Polish president and first lady among 132 dead in presidential plane crash in Russia

Baku – APA. Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife were killed when the presidential plane crashed near an airport in western Russia, APA reports.

A total of 132 people were on board the Tupolev 154 aircraft, according to the Russian Investigation Committee. The governor of Smolensk Oblast confirmed there were no survivors in the accident, which happened several hundred meters from the runway of Smolensk Airport. The plane was on approach to Smolensk (LNX) from Warsaw in heavy fog. Reports indicate the plane may have been attempting a go-around when it hit trees and burst into flames.
According to media reports, the head of the Polish Army and former Polish president Ryszard Kaczorowski were also on board. Confirmation was not immediately available.


President Kaczynski was on an official visit to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, when Soviet troops killed thousands of Poles.