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Apr 10, 2010
Polish leader, 96 dead
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Firefighters working to extinguish the flames near the wreckage of a Polish government Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft after it crashed near Smolensk. Polish President Lech Kaczynski was killed when the plane carrying 132 people crashed in thick fog on its approach to the Russian airport killing everyone on board, officials said. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
View more photos http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/image/20100410/plane-ap.jpghttp://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/image/20100410/crash2-reuters.jpg
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MOSCOW - POLISH President Lech Kaczynski and some of the country's highest military and civilian leaders died when the presidential plane crashed as it came in for a landing in thick fog in western Russia on Saturday, killing 96, officials said.
Russian and Polish officials said there were no survivors on the Soviet-era Tupolev, which was taking the president, his wife and staff to events marking the 70th anniversary of the massacre of thousands of Polish officers by Soviet secret police.
The Army chief of staff, Gen. Franciszek Gagor, National Bank President Slawomir Skrzypek and Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer were also on board, the Polish foreign ministry said.
Russia's Emergency Ministry said there were 96 dead, 88 part of a Polish state delegation. Poland's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Piotr Paszkowski, said there were 89 people on the passenger list but one person had not shown up.
'We still cannot fully understand the scope of this tragedy and what it means for us in the future. Nothing like this has ever happened in Poland,' Paszkowski said. 'We can assume with great certainty that all persons on board have been killed.'
State news channel Rossiya-24 showed footage from the crash site, with pieces of the plane scattered widely amid leafless trees and small fires burning in woods shrouded with fog. A tail fin with the Polish red and white colors stuck up from the debris.
'The Polish presidential plane did not make it to the runway while landing. Tentative findings indicate that it hit the treetops and fell apart,' regional governor Sergei Anufriev said on Rossiya-24. 'Nobody has survived the disaster.'
The presidential Tu-154 was at least 20 years old. Polish officials have long discussed replacing the planes that carry the country's leaders but said they lacked the funds. According to the Aviation Safety Network, there have been 66 crashes involving Tu-154s, including six in the past five years. The Russian carrier Aeroflot recently withdrew its Tu-154 fleet from service. -- AP
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Pilot error suspected <!-- story content : end -->
Polish leader, 96 dead
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MOSCOW - POLISH President Lech Kaczynski and some of the country's highest military and civilian leaders died when the presidential plane crashed as it came in for a landing in thick fog in western Russia on Saturday, killing 96, officials said.
Russian and Polish officials said there were no survivors on the Soviet-era Tupolev, which was taking the president, his wife and staff to events marking the 70th anniversary of the massacre of thousands of Polish officers by Soviet secret police.
The Army chief of staff, Gen. Franciszek Gagor, National Bank President Slawomir Skrzypek and Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer were also on board, the Polish foreign ministry said.
Russia's Emergency Ministry said there were 96 dead, 88 part of a Polish state delegation. Poland's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Piotr Paszkowski, said there were 89 people on the passenger list but one person had not shown up.
'We still cannot fully understand the scope of this tragedy and what it means for us in the future. Nothing like this has ever happened in Poland,' Paszkowski said. 'We can assume with great certainty that all persons on board have been killed.'
State news channel Rossiya-24 showed footage from the crash site, with pieces of the plane scattered widely amid leafless trees and small fires burning in woods shrouded with fog. A tail fin with the Polish red and white colors stuck up from the debris.
'The Polish presidential plane did not make it to the runway while landing. Tentative findings indicate that it hit the treetops and fell apart,' regional governor Sergei Anufriev said on Rossiya-24. 'Nobody has survived the disaster.'
The presidential Tu-154 was at least 20 years old. Polish officials have long discussed replacing the planes that carry the country's leaders but said they lacked the funds. According to the Aviation Safety Network, there have been 66 crashes involving Tu-154s, including six in the past five years. The Russian carrier Aeroflot recently withdrew its Tu-154 fleet from service. -- AP
Read more:
Pilot error suspected <!-- story content : end -->
