Lucy
Apr 10, 2010, 01:00 AM
How awful.
Polish president and wife among '87 confirmed dead' as plane crashes in Russia
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1264964/BREAKING-NEWS-Plane-carrying-Polish-president-crashes-Russia.html#ixzz0kgcHyaLo
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."
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.
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.
Poland's National Bank Governor Slawomir Skrzypek was also on board the plane along with the country's deputy foreign minister and Army chief of staff.
"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.
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.
Polish president and wife among '87 confirmed dead' as plane crashes in Russia
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1264964/BREAKING-NEWS-Plane-carrying-Polish-president-crashes-Russia.html#ixzz0kgcHyaLo
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."
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.
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.
Poland's National Bank Governor Slawomir Skrzypek was also on board the plane along with the country's deputy foreign minister and Army chief of staff.
"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.
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.