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TD Garden holds moment of silence in remembrance of DC plane crash victims
"Our hearts are with The Skating Club of Boston, the entire figure skating community and everyone that has been affected by this tragedy."
Ahead of the Bruins’ matchup against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night, a solemn TD Garden crowd paid tribute to the victims from Wednesday’s mid-air collision in Washington, D.C.
The accident involving an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army helicopter claimed the lives of 67 individuals — including six people with ties to The Skating Club of Boston.
The six individuals linked to the prestigious skating club — teenage skaters Spencer Lane and Jinna Han; their mothers Christine Lane and Jin Han; and coaches Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova — were on board American Airlines Flight 5342 Wednesday and were returning from a skating development camp that followed the US figure skating championships in Wichita, Kansas.
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“Fans, tonight we pause in solemn remembrance of all the lives lost in last night’s tragic aircraft collision in Washington, D.C.,” TD Garden public address announcer Jake Zimmer said. “Our hearts are with The Skating Club of Boston, the entire figure skating community and everyone that has been affected by this tragedy. At this time, we ask you to please join us for a moment of silence in remembrance of the lives lost.”
Several sports teams and venues in the Boston area offered up their condolences online following Wednesday’s events, including the New England Patriots and TD Garden.
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“We are heartbroken by the devastating loss of those involved in the Flight 5342 collision,” TD Garden’s statement read. “We join the world in mourning the loss of all those aboard, including our Skating Club of Boston community, who have lost coaches, athletes, friends and family members. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragedy.
Speaking at The Skating Club of Boston on Thursday afternoon, Olympic figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tenley Albright mourned the victims — while also preaching the need for a tight-knit skating community to support one another during these trying times.
“I think what we’ll find is that the skaters will come to the ice and skate as part of the healing because when you skate, it’s an expression,” Albright told reporters. “And I think that it will help them to be together on the ice. … “I really can’t believe that it happened because I can picture them right here.
“The skaters just flew all over the ice, doing remarkable things, inspiring all of us. It — to us — is just terrible, and it’s sad, and we just feel we need to be together.”
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