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Polish president, govt officials die in air crash

Polish president, govt officials die in air crash
By ALJAZEERA.net
Sat 10 Apr. 2010, 12:20 CAT

Lech Kaczynski, the Polish president his wife and top government official, killed when the presidential plane crashed in western Russia. Image from video footage shows a firefighter working to extinguish the flames from the wreckage of a Polish government Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft that crashed near Smolensk airport today.

A plane carrying Lech Kaczynski, the Polish president, has crashed near Smolensk airport in western Russia, killing all 135 passengers on board, Russian and Polish officials say.

Polish officials also confirmed on Saturday that Kaczynski was on board the flight with his wife, as well as Slawomir Skrzypek, the head of Poland's central bank, Andrzej Kremer, the deputy foreign minister and the army chief of staff.

The Tupolev Tu-154 plane crashed on approach to Smolensk airport in thick fog.

Sergei Antufiev, the governor of Russia's Smolensk region, told official media there were no survivors from the crash.

"It clipped the tops of the trees, crashed down and broke into pieces," Antufiev told Russia-24 television.

Polish 'shock'

Rafal Kiepuszewski, a journalist monitoring the situation in Poland, said the news came as a shock to the Polish people.


"The fact that much of the Polish political establishment appears to have been wiped out on this single flight has really come as a profound shock to the Polish nation," he said.

The Polish government delegation was on its way to the city of Smolensk to take part in the 70th commemoration of the Katyn massacre - where Russian forces killed more than 20,000 Polish soldiers.

Kaczynski has served as president of Poland since 2005. Prior to that, he was mayor of Warsaw, the Polish capital.

An emergency government session was being called in Warsaw to discuss the situation, while a crowd could be seen gathering in front of the presidential palace.

Crash investigation

Smolensk local authorities investigating Saturday's crash said that pilot error may have been the cause of the crash.

"The pilot was advised to land in Minsk, but decided to land in Smolensk," Andrei Yevseyenkov, a spokesman for the local government said.

Chris Yates, an aviation expert, told Al Jazeera the the Tupolev Tu-154 is capable of operating in extreme weather conditions and able to land on unpaved airstrips.

"These things are built like thanks," he said via email correspondence.

"From early reports, it would seem to be a fluke accident, with the aircraft clipping trees in the descent."

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Labels: AIRPLANE CRASHES, POLAND, RUSSIA

posted by MrK @ 2:29 PM