Polish president and wife among 132 dead in plane crash in Russia
10 Apr 2010
Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 131 others, including the president's wife Maria and an entourage of officials on board a Soviet-made Tu-154, were killed early on Saturday when the plane hit trees and crashed as it approached Smolensk airport in western Russia in thick fog.
Polish foreign ministry sources said the plane crashed some 300-400 meters from the runway after catching tops of surrounding trees.
"The crash to the ground was so strong that the plane burst into small pieces," correspondent of the Russian television channel Rossiya-24 who was present at the scene said.
A spokesperson for Russian emergencies ministry said there were 96 people on board. "According to the latest information, there were 96 people on board including 88 (members of the) official delegation," the spokesperson said.
While the exact number of people died in the crash is yet to be verified, no one travelling in the ill-fated plane seems to have survived.
The Soviet-made Tu-154 three-engine mid-range jet was carrying a delegation of senior officials, including the Polish armed forces chief and the head of the country's central bank.
