Thousands turn out for funeral of Rangers prospect (AP)
3 minutes ago
MOSCOW - Friends, family and thousands of fans paid their last respects Wednesday to Alexei Cherepanov, the 19-year-old rising hockey star who died after suffering heart problems during a game outside Moscow.
State television showed mourners in his Siberian hometown lining up on a red carpet placed on the ice in the hockey stadium of Cherepanov's team, Avangard Omsk, to lay flowers at his coffin.
Cherepanov, a first-round draft pick for the New York Rangers, collapsed on the bench during a game outside Moscow on Monday.
Crowds of mourners followed as pallbearers carried Cherepanov's coffin, draped with white cloth, from the stadium to Omsk's Staro-Severnoye Cemetery, where he was buried.
Some onlookers were so overcome with grief they had to be restrained.
"It is hard to evaluate today the depth of the loss felt by the family of Alexei, Russian sport, and the Avangard team," said Leonid Polezhayev, the governor of the Omsk region, in comments to Russian agency Regnum.
"Alexei Cherepanov wasn't only a talented athlete and a reliable comrade, he was an idol of modern youth."
Investigators have said Cherepanov apparently had chronic ischemia — a medical condition in which not enough blood gets to the heart or other organs. They have raised questions as to why the condition went undetected.
Accusations of negligence have also been raised. In particular, lawmaker Pavel Krasheninnikov, who also sits on the Russian Hockey Federation's supervisory council, has accused emergency workers of taking too long to respond to the call. He also complained there was no ambulance on standby for the game and no defibrillator.
Federal investigators are examining the case.