Poland President Died - Polish President Lech Kaczynski and dozens of political figures died Saturday in a plane crash in Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Lech Kaczynski and his wife were among the dozens killed when their official plane came down in dense fog as it approached the airport in Smolensk in the west of Russia.
The victims included Polish politicians, religious figures, anti- communist icons and much of the country's military leadership. All 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.
It was not immediately clear how many people were on board the Tupolev TU-154. First reports spoke of 132, but officials said later there were 80 passengers and a crew of seven.
The aircraft, painted in the official Polish colours of red and white, reportedly struck trees and caught fire, scattering wreckage over a wooded area.
Russian television showed footage of firemen dousing the flames of the burning fuselage. Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the crash, which was recorded at 10:50 am (0650 GMT).
Among those on board were Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last Polish president in exile, Jerzy Szmajdzinski, vice-marshal of parliament, Wladyslaw Stasiak, head of the president's chancellery, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer and the chief of the general staff Franciszek Gagor.
The "nation's elite" died, said former President Lech Walesa when hearing news of the accident.
Planned ceremonies in Katyn were called off. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev set up a special commission to investigate the crash, headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
"This is on an unimaginable scale," said Wojciech Olejniczak, a member of the European Parliament, on TVN 24.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who broke into tears upon hearing the news, called an emergency meeting of his cabinet in Warsaw to discuss developments.
The portly 60-year-old president, who was elected to president in 2005, gained the national limelight at the age of 13 when he and his twin brother Jaroslav starred in the children's film called About Those Two Who Stole The Moon.
Kaczynski and his brother founded the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which preached national values and adopted a strident law and order approach.
Jaroslav Kaczynski served as prime minister from 2006-2007.
Under the Polish constitution, the president of parliament, Bronislaw Komorowski, will take over the duties of head of state until a new president is elected.
Lech Kaczynski and his wife were among the dozens killed when their official plane came down in dense fog as it approached the airport in Smolensk in the west of Russia.
The victims included Polish politicians, religious figures, anti- communist icons and much of the country's military leadership. All 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.
It was not immediately clear how many people were on board the Tupolev TU-154. First reports spoke of 132, but officials said later there were 80 passengers and a crew of seven.
The aircraft, painted in the official Polish colours of red and white, reportedly struck trees and caught fire, scattering wreckage over a wooded area.
Russian television showed footage of firemen dousing the flames of the burning fuselage. Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the crash, which was recorded at 10:50 am (0650 GMT).
Among those on board were Ryszard Kaczorowski, the last Polish president in exile, Jerzy Szmajdzinski, vice-marshal of parliament, Wladyslaw Stasiak, head of the president's chancellery, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer and the chief of the general staff Franciszek Gagor.
The "nation's elite" died, said former President Lech Walesa when hearing news of the accident.
Planned ceremonies in Katyn were called off. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev set up a special commission to investigate the crash, headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
"This is on an unimaginable scale," said Wojciech Olejniczak, a member of the European Parliament, on TVN 24.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who broke into tears upon hearing the news, called an emergency meeting of his cabinet in Warsaw to discuss developments.
The portly 60-year-old president, who was elected to president in 2005, gained the national limelight at the age of 13 when he and his twin brother Jaroslav starred in the children's film called About Those Two Who Stole The Moon.
Kaczynski and his brother founded the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which preached national values and adopted a strident law and order approach.
Jaroslav Kaczynski served as prime minister from 2006-2007.
Under the Polish constitution, the president of parliament, Bronislaw Komorowski, will take over the duties of head of state until a new president is elected.
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