Poland President Lech Kaczysnki, his wife and a delegation including Poland's top national security and military officials were killed in a plane crash near the western Russian airport of Smolensk Saturday.
Polish officials said 89 people had been killed in the crash, CNN reported.
The Polish presidential delegation had been traveling to the village of Katyn to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the massacre of some 20,000 Polish officers there during World War II.
The group had flown from Warsaw in a Tupolev-154 and was approaching to land at the airport in Smolensk in heavy fog when the plane was believed to hit trees at the end of the runway. Some reports said the pilot had been advised because of the heavy fog to re-route to another airport.
Among those killed in the crash, Kaczynski, 60, his wife Maria Kaczysnka, Aleksander Szczyglo, the head of the National Security Office; Jerzy Szmajdzinski, the deputy parliament speaker; Andrzej Kremer, the deputy foreign minister; and Gen. Franciszek Gagor, the army chief of staff, according to the party, according to CNN.
Parliament Speaker Bronislaw Komowrowski has become acting president and declared a day of national mourning. Russia also declared a day of national mourning.
Kaczynski had been president since 2005. Elections must now be held within 60 days, CNN cited former Polish Foreign Minister Dariusz Rosati.
Countries around the world have sent condolences. President Barack Obama called Polish Prime Minister Tusk to express his condolences to the people of Poland.
"Today’s loss is devastating to Poland, to the United States, and to the world," President Barack Obama said in a statement. "President Kaczynski was a distinguished statesman who played a key role in the Solidarity movement, and he was widely admired in the United States as a leader dedicated to advancing freedom and human dignity. With him were many of Poland’s most distinguished civilian and military leaders who have helped to shape Poland’s inspiring democratic transformation. We join all the people of Poland in mourning their passing."
"I join President Obama in offering my deepest condolences to the people of Poland, to the Kaczynski family, and to the families of all those killed in this tragedy," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, calling Kaczynski one of America's most valued and trusted allies, and "champion for democracy against an opressive regime."
"Lost alongside President Kaczynski and his wife were Polish leaders from across the political spectrum, men and women who shaped and sped Poland's post-1989 democratic transformation and were leading Poland into its promising future," she said.
"The United States stands with the Polish people in this difficult hour," she said, saying her thoughts and prayers are with the people of Poland today.
Kaczynski was very pro-American and a major promoter of former President George W. Bush's missile defense plan in Poland, which was opposed by Russia, former Bush administration National Security Council official Jamie Fly said. Conspiracy theories are swirling in Poland, but it seemed the weather/fog was very bad.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that the accident would be jointly investigated by the Russians and the Poles.
Polish officials said 89 people had been killed in the crash, CNN reported.
The Polish presidential delegation had been traveling to the village of Katyn to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the massacre of some 20,000 Polish officers there during World War II.
The group had flown from Warsaw in a Tupolev-154 and was approaching to land at the airport in Smolensk in heavy fog when the plane was believed to hit trees at the end of the runway. Some reports said the pilot had been advised because of the heavy fog to re-route to another airport.
Among those killed in the crash, Kaczynski, 60, his wife Maria Kaczysnka, Aleksander Szczyglo, the head of the National Security Office; Jerzy Szmajdzinski, the deputy parliament speaker; Andrzej Kremer, the deputy foreign minister; and Gen. Franciszek Gagor, the army chief of staff, according to the party, according to CNN.
Parliament Speaker Bronislaw Komowrowski has become acting president and declared a day of national mourning. Russia also declared a day of national mourning.
Kaczynski had been president since 2005. Elections must now be held within 60 days, CNN cited former Polish Foreign Minister Dariusz Rosati.
Countries around the world have sent condolences. President Barack Obama called Polish Prime Minister Tusk to express his condolences to the people of Poland.
"Today’s loss is devastating to Poland, to the United States, and to the world," President Barack Obama said in a statement. "President Kaczynski was a distinguished statesman who played a key role in the Solidarity movement, and he was widely admired in the United States as a leader dedicated to advancing freedom and human dignity. With him were many of Poland’s most distinguished civilian and military leaders who have helped to shape Poland’s inspiring democratic transformation. We join all the people of Poland in mourning their passing."
"I join President Obama in offering my deepest condolences to the people of Poland, to the Kaczynski family, and to the families of all those killed in this tragedy," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, calling Kaczynski one of America's most valued and trusted allies, and "champion for democracy against an opressive regime."
"Lost alongside President Kaczynski and his wife were Polish leaders from across the political spectrum, men and women who shaped and sped Poland's post-1989 democratic transformation and were leading Poland into its promising future," she said.
"The United States stands with the Polish people in this difficult hour," she said, saying her thoughts and prayers are with the people of Poland today.
Kaczynski was very pro-American and a major promoter of former President George W. Bush's missile defense plan in Poland, which was opposed by Russia, former Bush administration National Security Council official Jamie Fly said. Conspiracy theories are swirling in Poland, but it seemed the weather/fog was very bad.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that the accident would be jointly investigated by the Russians and the Poles.
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