Galimov, lone surviving player, dies

MOSCOW – Alexander Galimov, the lone surviving player from last Wednesday’s horrific plane crash that took the lives of his Lokomotiv Yaroslavl teammates and coaches, has died.
SovSport reported Monday that Galimov finally succumbed to the injuries and severe burns he suffered when the Yak-42 aircraft that he and his team were on

crashed just after takeoff from an airport in Yaroslavl. Doctors at the Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery in Moscow had been fighting for five days to keep Galimov alive but the burns over 90 percent of the players body and upper respiratory system.
Doctors released a statement Monday saying that despite the “use of all possible contemporary treatments in the burn center” that Galimov had died. From the outset, the doctors had said that chances for survival because the severity of the burns was minimal.
Galimov’s death brings the number of fatalities from the crash to 44. Flight crew member Alexander Yakovlev, who along with Galimov had survived the crash, is listed as being in serious but stable condition at the Sklifosovsky Institute in Moscow.
Lokomotiv spokesman Vladimir Malkov said that a memorial service for Galimov will be held at the Arena 2000 in Yaroslavl, site of Saturday’s emotional farewell to the rest of the team. Authorities estimated that between 50,000 and 100,000 attended the memorial including Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. It is expected that Galimov’s remains will be buried at the Leontievskoe cemetery alongside his coaches and teammates.
“We had all hoped that Sasha (Galimov) would muddle through. He was so strong, cheerful, young,” Malkov said.
The news comes as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was convening a meeting to decide how to proceed with the rebuilding of the Lokomotiv team and when it would be done.
“This is an unprecedented tragedy in the history of our sport,“ Medvedev said. “It stirred the whole country. Today, we need to discuss how to revive the team. We have to take a tactful and informed decision.”   The meeting involved 12 people: Medvedev, presidential aides Arkady Dvorkovich and Alexander Abramov, Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko, president of JSC “RZD” Vladimir Yakunin, KHL president Alexander Medvedev, KHL Board of Governors Chairman Vyacheslav Fetisov, Yaroslavl regional governor Sergey Vakhrukov, Russian Hockey Federation president Vladislav Tretiak, president of HC Lokomotiv team president Yuri Yakovlev, and two Locomotive fans.
Stay with ProHockeyNews for more on this developing story.
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