Polish president dies in air crash

Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria were killed with 85 people Saturday when a plane carrying them crashed near the Smolensk airport in Russia, officials said.

The accident took place when the plane was landing in foggy weather.

Russia’s Emergencies Ministry confirmed the fatalities. Poland’s foreign ministry press secretary Petr Paszkowski confirmed that the president was on board the Tu-154 aircraft.

They were going to Russia to participate in an official ceremony in Katyn, where 20,000 Poles were killed by Soviet forces during World War II.

The delegation included Jerzy Szmajdinski, a former defence minister, and Slawmir Skrzpek, president of the Polish National Bank.