Polish president feared dead in Russian plane crash
- 14 years ago
A plane carrying Lech Kaczynski, the Polish president, has crashed near Smolensk airport in western Russia, killing all 132 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 Russian emergencies ministry told Itar-Tass news agency the plane crashed at 1056 Moscow time (0656 GMT).
The Tupolev Tu-154 plane crashed on approach to Smolensk airport in foggy conditions.
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.
Rafal Kiepuszewski, a journalist monitoring the situation in Poland, said the news came as a shock to the Polish people.
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 Russian emergencies ministry told Itar-Tass news agency the plane crashed at 1056 Moscow time (0656 GMT).
The Tupolev Tu-154 plane crashed on approach to Smolensk airport in foggy conditions.
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.
Rafal Kiepuszewski, a journalist monitoring the situation in Poland, said the news came as a shock to the Polish people.