Polish President, Wife Among Dozens Killed in Russia Plane Crash

A plane with Lech Kaczynski, Polish President near Smolensk in western Russia crash killing all 135 passengers on board, Russian and Polish authorities said. Polish officials also confirmed Saturday that Kaczynski on board the flight with his wife, like Slawomir Skrzypek, the head of the Central Bank of Poland, Andrzej Kremer, deputy foreign minister and chief of the army.

The Tupolev Tu-154 crashed on approach to the airport of Smolensk, in a dense fog. Sergei Antufiev, the governor of Smolensk, in Russia, said the official media, there were no survivors of the accident. And "cut off the tops of the trees, crashed and broke apart," said Russo-24 Antufiev television. Polish Rafal Kiepuszewski shock region, a journalist tracking the situation in Poland, said the news was a surprise for the Polish people. have been map In Depth: Lech Kaczynski, "The fact that most of the Polish political class seems to be eliminated in this flight really be a deep blow to the Polish nation come to," he said. The Polish government delegation was on its way to the city of Smolensk, on the commemoration of the 70th attend the anniversary of the Katyn massacre - where Russian forces have killed over 20,000 Polish soldiers.

Kaczynski became president of Poland since 2005. Previously, he was mayor of Warsaw, Polish capital. An emergency cabinet meeting was called to Warsaw to discuss the situation, while a crowd had gathered at the presidential palace. Crash Investigation of Smolensk local investigators said on Saturday that pilot error may be the cause for the accident have been. "The pilot of the ground in Minsk, reported but decided to land at Smolensk, Yevseyenkov, a spokesman for the local government," said Andres. Chris Yates, an aviation expert told Al Jazeera the Tupolev Tu-154 can operate in extreme weather conditions and can land on unpaved runways. "These things are built as a thank you," he said via e-mail. "According to initial reports, an accident seems appropriate, with plane trees cut .."