Poland President Died - Polish President Lech Kaczynski and dozens of political figures died Saturday morning in a crash as their plane approached an airport in Smolensk, Russia, reported Russian and Polish news agencies.
Lech Kaczynski and his wife were among the up to 132 dead. That figure included politicians, religious figures and anti-communist icons. All the officials were on their way to Katyn, to mark the 70th anniversary of the Soviet massacre of some 22,000 Polish officers during World War II.
Poland's TVN 24 reported no survivors to the crash, citing the mayor of Smolensk. The governor of the Russian region of Smolensk confirmed that Kaczynski was on board the plane and had died, reported Interfax.
The plane reportedly struck trees as it approached the airport in the western Russian city and caught fire. The flames have since been extinguished. Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the crash, which was recorded at 10:50 am (0650 GMT).
On board were also Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last Polish president in exile, Jerzy Szmajdzinski, vice-marshal of parliament, Wladyslaw Stasiak, head of the president's chancellery, and Janusz Kurtyka, head of the Institute of National Remembrance, which investigates Nazi and Soviet crimes against Poles, reported the Polish Press Agency PAP.
Planned ceremonies in Katyn were called off. Attendees said they would instead pray for the victims of the plane crash.
"This is on an unimaginable scale," said Wojciech Olejniczak, a member of the European Parliament, on TVN 24.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk called an emergency meeting in Warsaw.
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