Poland has suffered its worst political disaster since the second world war after its president, Lech Kaczynski, and dozens of top government officials were killed when their plane crashed in thick fog in western Russia this morning.
At least 96 people died when the Tupulov aircraft clipped some trees on its approach to Smolensk airport. It then broke up, killing everyone on board. Russian TV showed pictures of the upended wing and smouldering fuselage.
Those killed included Kaczynski's wife Maria, the army chief of staff, the head of the national bank, Poland's deputy foreign minister, three members of parliament, and at least two presidential aides, the Polish foreign ministry said. Rescuers today said they had found several bodies and were trying to identify them.
Kaczynski had been flying to Smolensk to attend the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, where Soviet secret police executed 15,000 Polish officers in one of the most notorious incidents of the second world war. In a further tragic twist, family members of the Katyn victims were on board the president's plane. Others were waiting at the airport to meet him.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/10/polish-president-kaczynski-killed-crash
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