Manchester: Fans of Lokomotiv mourned outside the town's arena on Thursday following the crash which occurred as the team's plane took off on a flight to Minsk ahead of the season-opener against Dinamo.
With the tragedy in Russia echoing the loss suffered by United in the 1958 Munich air disaster, which resulted in the death of eight Busby Babes among 23 killed in the crash, a letter signed by Old Trafford chief executive David Gill was faxed to both Lokomotiv and the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) on Thursday.
The letter from Gill, addressed to the president of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, contained the following message: “Dear Mr President, It is with great sadness that I write to express the heartfelt condolences of everyone at Manchester United over the tragic loss of life in the plane crash that your club suffered on Wednesday.
"The news came as a great shock here and brought back some terrible memories for some of those connected with our club of our own tragedy in Munich in 1958.
"I hope that you can take strength from the knowledge that with time, support and the collective determination of those who are left at the club and colleagues throughout your sport and further afield, Lokomotiv will recover from this and rebuild itself in the memory of those who died.
Not a day goes by at Old Trafford without the recognition of the contribution of the people who were killed in the crash. And it will always be so.
"The thoughts and prayers of all of us are with you in these darkest of days."
Comments
0 comment