Engine failure and human factor are seen as the most likely causes of Wednesday's plane crash near Yaroslavl, Russia's Deputy Transport Minister Valery Okulov said.

He denied earlier reports that it took the plane too long to take off and gain altitude.

Experts say low-quality fuel may also be one of the causes.

The bodies of all 43 victims have been found at the scene of the tragedy.

Only two passengers survived and are now in critical condition in hospital.

The flight data recorders are still being looked for. The crash took the lives of 36 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team players, including 11 foreigners, and seven crew members.

The Yaroslavl region will observe a 3-day mourning starting from Friday.

Russia Consumed by Grief over Crashed Lokomotiv Team

Athletes, politicians and public figures all over the world are sending condolences to the relatives of Russia's Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team as Russians mourn its tragic death in yesterday's plane crash.

President Dmitry Medvedev wrote his Twitter blog that the fans and the entire nation are consumed by grief. Letters of condolences came from the governments of Poland, Sweden, Germany, France, the Czech Republic and many other countries.

A Yak-42 plane carrying the Lokomotiv team to a match in Belarus crashed minutes after take off from Yaroslavl airport. Only two of the 45 people on board survived. They are in critical condition.

Engine Failure, Low Grade Fuel Possible Causes of Yaroslavl Plane Crash

Engine failure is seen by experts as the most likely cause of Wednesday's plane crash near Yaroslavl. A source at the Civil Aviation Ministry said that the three-engine Yakovlev 42 jet can fly and even land on two, but it can't lift off with one engine shutting off.

Eyewitnesses said the plane took too long to take off and then failed to gain altitude, apparently due to the lack of thrust. Low-quality fuel may also be a cause, experts say. The flight data recorders are still being looked for.

36 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team players, including 11 foreigners, and seven crew members died when the jet crashed shortly after takeoff. Two survivors, a fight engineer and hockey player, are in hospital.

Engine Failure a Possible Cause of Yak-42 Crash

Engine failure is seen by experts as the most likely cause of Wednesday's plane crash near Yaroslavl. A source at the Civil Aviation Ministry said that the three-engine Yakovlev 42 jet can fly and even land on two, but it can't lift off with one engine shutting off.

Eyewitnesses said the plane took too long to take off and then failed to gain altitude, apparently due to the lack of thrust.

36 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team players, including 11 foreigners, and seven crew members died when the jet crashed shortly after takeoff. Two survivors, a fight engineer and hockey player, are in hospital.

Divers Looking for Plane Crash Victims

Divers are searching for bodies in a river outside Yaroslavl where parts of the crashed Yakovlev 42 jet fell on Wednesday.

36 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team players, including 11 foreigners, and seven members of the Yakovlev 42 jet died when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff. Two survivors, a fight engineer and hockey player Alexander Galimov, have already been operated on.

The Yak-42 plane was carrying the team to Minsk, the Belarusian capital, for the start of the new Continental Hockey League tournament. The plane crashed at 4:00 p.m. Moscow time (noon GMT), plunging down just minutes after take-off, and bursting into flames.

Relatives of the victims start arriving at the site to identify their loved ones.