[Updated at 12:08 p.m.] A plane carrying Russian, German, Swedish and former NHL hockey players crashed as it took off Wednesday afternoon from Russia's Yaroslavl airport, killing at least 43 people, Russian emergency officials said.

A Russian Emergency Situations Ministry representative said there were 45 people on the plane, including eight crew members, of whom two had survived. It had earlier said 37 people were aboard.

Twenty-nine bodies have been recovered from the crash site so far, the ministry spokesman told CNN. He added that the plane crashed on the banks of the Volga river, with parts of the plane falling to the ground and other parts into the river.

The Russian Federal Aviation Agency said earlier a number of people had survived the crash, but their condition was critical.

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[Updated at 10:47 a.m.] An aviation agency spokesman, Sergei Izvolsky, told CNN the plane crash occurred around 4 p.m. (8 a.m. ET) during take-off because the plane couldn'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.

The plane carrying Russian, German and Swedish hockey players crashed as it took off from Russia's Yaroslavl airport Wednesday afternoon, killing 36 people.

[Updated at 10:45 a.m.] Lokomotiv Yaroslavl had a number of players with ties to the National Hockey League, according to the NHL website.

They included defensemen Karel Rachunek, Ruslan Salei and Karlis Skrastins, as well as forwards Pavol Demitra and Josef Vasicek, the NHL website said, as well the team's head coach, Brad McCrimmon, who had played and coached in the NHL.

A Russian Kontinental Hockey League ice hockey match between Salavat Yulayev and Atlant was halted in the city of Ufa after news of the crash came through.

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.

[Updated at 9:58 a.m.]  A plane carrying Russian, German and Swedish hockey players crashed as it took off from Russia's Yaroslavl airport Wednesday afternoon, killing 36 people, Russian news agencies reported.

The Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team - which included players from Germany and Sweden - was scheduled to play a match in the new Kontinental Hockey League, RIA Novosti said.

An aviation agency spokesman, Sergei Izvolsky, told CNN the crash occurred around 4 p.m. (8 a.m. ET) during take-off because the plane couldn'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.

[Updated at 9:25 a.m.]  A Russian Emergency Situations Ministry representative said there were 37 people aboard a plane that crashed, including four crew members.

Preliminary information indicates 36 died and one is missing, the ministry said.

However, the Russian Federal Aviation Agency said three people had survived the crash and that their condition was critical.

[Updated at 9:11 a.m.] The Yak-42 aircraft was taking members of a hockey team to Minsk, the Belarusian capital, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.

[Posted at 9:02 a.m.] A plane crashed as it took off from Russia's Yaroslavl airport, killing 36 people, Russian news agencies report.

The Yak-42 aircraft belonged to Yak-Service Airlines, the aviation authority told Interfax news agency.

Yaroslavl is located northeast of Moscow.