Former captain of Slovak national hockey team Pavol Demitra died in a plane crash in Russia on Wednesday.

Demitra, born in 1974, played 16 seasons in North America in the National Hockey League (NHL) with five clubs, before signed with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, a Russian professional ice hockey team last year. He has attended three Olympic games, including the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Despite the glamorous success in his career as ice-hockey player, fans would remember him mostly for his emotional outbreaks.

Demitra burst into tears while making a farewell to the national team jersey with the number 38 at the World Championship in Bratislava in May.

However, four months later, thousands of Slavak people are shedding tears in grief over his tragic death.

The passenger plane carrying the entire Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crashed near the city of Yaroslavl in central Russia soon after take-off. The crash claimed the lives of 43 people, according to latest reports.