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BREAKING NEWS: Polish president and wife among '87 confirmed dead' as plane crashes in Russia
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:20 AM on 10th April 2010


Polish president Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria have been killed after their plane crashed on approach to Smolensk airport in western Russia.
Russian news agencies reported at least 87 people died in the crash near Smolensk airport in western Russia, citing the Russian Emergencies Ministry. They reported 132 people were aboard the Tupolev Tu-154.
The governor of the Smolensk region, where the crash took place about 11 a.m. (0700 GMT), said no one survived.

"The Polish presidential plane did not make it to the runway while landing. Tentative findings indicate that it hit the treetops and fell apart," Sergei Anufriev said on state news channel Rossiya-24. "Nobody has survived the disaster."
Crash: A plane carrying Polish president Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria (pictured here in 2007) has crashed on approach to Smolensk airport in western Russia

The crash occurred about 1.5 km from Smolensk airport in foggy conditions.

According to reports, the pilot accelerated as the plane came in to land and at that point lost contact with air traffic control. A fire then broke out.

The president and his wife were on their way to attend a World War Two memorial service.
Wreckage: The fuselage of the plane lies in woodland near Smolensk airport
A Polish government official said the head of the Polish army and the head of the presidential administration were also on board the plane, along with the president's wife and families of other senior officials.
The Army chief of staff, Gen. Franciszek Gagor, National Bank President Slawomir Skrzypek and Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer were on the passenger list.

"The plane caught fire after the crash. Teams began attempting to pull out passengers from the badly damaged airplane," said a Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman in Warsaw.

The Polish government will hold an extraordinary meeting later today.
Scene: A plane carrying the Polish president crashed on landing at Smolensk airport

Dark day for Poland: Mourners lay flowers in front of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw

The president and his wife were on their way to a memorial service for the victims of the Katyn massacre which, in 1940, saw thousands of Polish prisoners of war murdered (primarily military officers), intellectuals, policemen, and other public servants by the Soviet NKVD.
In Warsaw, Prime Minister Donald Tusk called an extraordinary meeting of his Cabinet.

Kaczynski, 60, became president in December 2005 after defeating Tusk in that year's presidential vote.

Dead: National Bank President Slawomir Skrzypek, left, and the Army chief of staff, Gen. Franciszek Gagor both died on board the plane

The nationalist conservative was the twin brother of Poland's opposition leader, former Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

Kaczynski had said he would seek a second term in presidential elections this fall. He was expected to face an uphill struggle against Parliament speaker Bronislaw Komorowski, the candidate of Tusk's governing Civic Platform party.

According to the constitution, Komorowski would take over presidential duties.

Kaczynski's wife, Maria, was an economist. They had a daughter, Marta, and two granddaughters.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z0kgwghuDf


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1264964/BREAKING-NEWS-Plane-carrying-Polish-president-crashes-Russia.html

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