Moscow ( CNN ) -- A plane carrying a hockey team with international players , including some NHL veterans , crashed as it took off Wednesday afternoon from Russia 's Yaroslavl airport , killing at least 43 people , Russian emergency officials said . The Yak-42 aircraft was taking players for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl -- one of Russia 's leading ice hockey teams -- to Minsk , the Belarusian capital , the Russian aviation authority told CNN . Two of the 45 people aboard the plane , which included eight crew members , survived , a Russian Emergency Situations Ministry representative said . Eleven of those on the aircraft were foreigners , the ministry said . Yaroslavl 's regional governor , Sergei Vakhrukov , named the two survivors as Russian forward Alexander Galimov and flight crew member Alexander Sizov . Both are being treated in intensive care . Si.com : Plane crash darkens hockey 's grim summer . Thirty-five bodies have been recovered from the crash site so far , the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said , and the search for those still missing continued into the night . Many of the bodies were recovered from the Volga River after the plane crashed on its banks near the airport , the ministry said . The Lokomotiv team , which was scheduled to play a match Thursday in the new Kontinental Hockey League , had a number of players with ties to the National Hockey League . NHL.com cited Russia 's Sov Sport website as confirming that the entire main roster of the team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl was on the plane , along with four players from the youth team . CNN.com : NHL feels loss of plane crash . The team 's head coach , Brad McCrimmon , 52 , who was born in Canada , previously played in the NHL and was an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings , NHL.com said . Others who played in the NHL included Karel Rachunek , 32 , a Czech native ; Ruslan Salei , 36 , from Belarus ; Karlis Skrastins , 37 , from Latvia ; Pavol Demitra , 36 , from Slovakia ; and Josef Vasicek , 30 , from the Czech Republic . Demitra was a former Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks center , RIA Novosti reported , while fellow center Vasicek was formerly with the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes . Salei previously played for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks , Colorado Avalanche and the Red Wings . SI.com : Team tragedies . NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the crash `` represents a catastrophic loss to the hockey world -- including the NHL family , which lost so many fathers , sons , teammates and friends who at one time excelled in our league . Our deepest condolences go to the families and loved ones of all who perished . '' Lou Lamoriello , president of the New Jersey Devils , paid tribute to Alexander Vasyunov , a forward who played for the club last season , as `` an outstanding young man and a gifted athlete . '' Rachunek also played for the Devils in 2007-08 , Lamoriello said , adding : `` Both were members of the Devils family . '' The Russian Hockey Federation expressed `` its deepest condolences to the bereaved families and relatives , fans and the entire hockey community '' in a statement on its website . A Kontinental Hockey League statement said : `` We are only beginning to understand the impact of this tragedy affecting the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl club on the friends we 've lost and the international hockey community . `` First and foremost , our condolences go out to the families of the players , coaches and staff lost in today 's tragedy . We know that there are many in the KHL family who will be grieving with us . '' A national championship ice hockey match between Salavat Yulayev and Atlant was halted in the city of Ufa after reports of the crash . Players from both teams and spectators observed a moment of silence before leaving the stadium . Many in the audience were crying , Russian state TV footage showed . The president of the Russian national hockey league , Alexander Medvedev , took the microphone at the stadium to say representatives from both clubs had asked to call off the match because they had ties to those at Lokomotiv . He said : `` I would like to assure you that we 'll do everything we can to make sure that the first-class ice hockey in Yaroslavl will continue and that the Lokomotiv club will remain as one of the strongest clubs in our Kontinental Hockey League . '' An aviation agency spokesman , Sergei Izvolsky , told CNN the crash occurred around 4 p.m. ( 8 a.m . ET ) during takeoff because the plane could n't reach a safe altitude fast enough . The aircraft collided with the antenna of the airport beacon , fell to the ground and broke into several pieces and caught fire , Izvolsky said . It was a charter flight with a plane operated by Yak-Service Airlines , he said . Yaroslavl is about 155 miles ( 250 kilometers ) northeast of Moscow . The Yakovlev Yak-42 was in proper technical order , the Russian Federal Aviation Agency 's press officer , Andrei Pryanishnikov , told CNN . The plane went through cursory maintenance service before departure to Yaroslavl and fully complied with all safety standards , he said . The last time it underwent regular maintenance service was on August 16 in the city of Kazan . Pryanishnikov said the plane was manufactured in 1993 and was certified airworthy until October 1 . Russian President Dmitry Medvedev instructed the country 's Investigative Committee and other law enforcement agencies to probe the crash . Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also asked Transport Minister Igor Levitin to go to the scene to organize efforts to examine the cause of the crash , Putin 's press office reported . The crash came as an international political forum opened in Yaroslavl , with participants expected to include Medvedev , the prime ministers of France , Spain and Italy and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak . Medvedev plans to visit the crash scene to pay tribute to the victims before attending the forum Thursday , the Kremlin press office said . CNN 's Maxim Tkachenko , David Close , Josh Levs , Jennifer Deaton and Laura Smith-Spark contributed to this report .
The crash is `` a catastrophic loss to the hockey world , '' NHL commissioner says . Eleven of 45 people on board the plane were foreigners , Russian officials say . Russian official says two survived crash in Yaroslavl , northeast of Moscow . The plane crashes on takeoff from Yaroslavl airport bound for Minsk , Belarus .