Polish president feared dead in crash

Lech Kacyznski, Poland’s president, was feared dead Saturday morning when the airliner carrying him and a large delegation crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk; Piotr Paszkowski, the foreign ministry spokesman, says there were 88 people aboard the aircraft, and that there were no survivors.

The Russian-built Tu-154 airliner apparently hit a tree just before 11 am local time while landing in foggy conditions, Mr Paszkowski told the Gazeta Wyborcza website. The airliner then caught fire.

“It looks very bad,” said Mr Paszkowski.

Reporters on the scene said they could see remnants of the airplane scattered among the trees near the airport.

As well as Mr Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, the aircraft was carrying a delegation of as many as 132 people that reportedly included Ryszard Kaczorowski, the former president of Poland’s London-based government-in-exile, Slawomir Skrzypek, the central bank governor, Jerzy Szmajdzinski, the presidential candidate of the left-wing Democratic Left Alliance, as well as bishops, military officials and other dignitaries.

They were flying to Russia to take part in commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the killing of 20,000 Polish officers by the Soviets in 1940. The best-known murder site, Katyn, where 4,000 Poles were killed, lies just outside Smolensk.

Bronislaw Komorowski, the speaker of parliament, is headed to Warsaw to take over Mr Kaczynski’’s duties.

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