I just got a message that an airplane with Poland's president, Lech Kaczyński (and his wife), as well as Polish Central Bank Governor, Sławomir Skrzypek, and lots of other important highest Polish government members on board crashed in Russia. As of right now it seems no one survived.

(Reuters) - Polish president Lech Kaczynski was feared dead after his plane crashed on approach to a Russian airport on Saturday, a Polish government official at the airport told Reuters.

World

Russian news agencies reported at least 87 people died in the crash near Smolensk airport in western Russia, citing the Russian Emergencies Ministry. They reported 132 people were aboard the Tupolev Tu-154.

Polish state news agency PAP said there were no survivors.

The Polish government official in Smolensk said there was no information about survivors. The crash occurred about 1.5 km (a mile) from Smolensk airport in foggy conditions.

The official said the head of the Polish army and the head of the presidential administration were also on board the plane, along with the president's wife and families of other senior officials.

"The plane caught fire after the crash. Teams began attempting to pull out passengers from the badly damaged airplane," said a Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman in Warsaw.

(Additional reporting by Robin Paxton and Maria Kiselyova in Moscow and Chris Borowski in Warsaw; writing by Robin Paxton; editing by Andrew Roche)





http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6390NQ20100410

this is really a bad weekend, and may disrupt the country Economy, am too sad cos that is one of the country i will be trying to invest in the nearest future

See Humility.


President and First Lady traveling in commercial plane.


May their souls RIP

kawazaki:

See Humility.


President and First Lady traveling in commercial plane.


May their souls RIP

MEN THE THING BAFFLES ME O, THEY SAID THE PLANE HIT TREE(S) B4 CRASHING

confirmed dead, rest in peace mr president

OH, WHAT A BLACK WEEKEND IN POLAND
MAY THEIR SOULS RIP

kawazaki:

See Humility.


President and First Lady traveling in commercial plane.


May their souls RIP

COMPLETE GOVERNANCE

If our local government elected members have their ways they will opt to travel in chartered airlines

kshow1:

COMPLETE GOVERNANCE

If our local government elected members have their ways they will opt to travel in chartered airlines

WHT DO U MEAN?

It has nothing to do with humility. A president should not travel on commercial plane. Do you know how sophisticated a presidential jet is? May his soul rest in peace.

odiaero:

WHT DO U MEAN?

Simply means means our president can never fly a commercial airline.

may their soul RIP

Sad news,

Anyway - I thinks this belongs in the foreign affairs section. It has nothing to do with Nigerian politics.

Moderator, shift the post.

PS: Do we know how Jonathan travelled? Did he take the Presidential Jet or Okada air?

The Polish president, Lech Kaczynski, and his wife were among 132 people killed when their plane crashed in thick fog on its approach to a regional airport in Russia early this morning.

The governor of the west Russian town of Smolensk confirmed there were no survivors from the Tupulov Tu-154 plane, which came down at 11am (7am GMT) about a mile (1.5km) from Smolensk airport.

"The Polish presidential plane did not make it to the runway while landing. Tentative findings indicate that it hit the treetops and fell apart. Nobody has survived the disaster," Smolensk governor Segei Anufriyev told the Russia 24 news channel.

The Polish government will hold an emergency meeting later today. Officials said the head of the Polish army, the governor of the central bank and the head of the presidential administration were also on board the plane, as well as Kaczynski, his wife and the families of other senior officials.

"The plane caught fire after the crash," said a Polish foreign ministry spokesman in Warsaw. Teams began attempting to pull out passengers from the badly damaged airplane."

The pilot was told Smolensk airport was closed because of thick fog, according to the news agency Interfax. He was offered a choice of landing instead in either Moscow or Minsk, the capital of Belarus. But he decided to continue with the original flight plan and land at Smolensk.

The pilot made three unsuccessful attempts to land before the crash. On the fourth try and plane fell apart, Interfax said, citing officials at Smolensk's interior ministry.

Russia's foreign ministry confirmed the cause of the air catastrophe was bad weather. "According to provisional information the crash happened because the plane failed to land at the military airport near Smolensk in conditions of severe fog,' one official said.

Kaczynski was visiting Smolensk to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, which took place in forests outside the town. The massacre of Polish officers by Russian secret police was one of the most notorious incidents of the second world war, and has long been a source of tension between Warsaw and Moscow.

On Wednesday, Poland's prime minister Donald Tusk attended a joint ceremony at Katyn with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Kaczynski, who had poor relations with the Kremlin, was making a separate trip to the spot.

Russia's president Dmitry Medvedev said that Putin would head a special commission to investigate Kaczynski's death and the circumstances of the crash. The emergency services minister Sergei Shoigu was also rushing to the scene at Severny airport, about 275 miles west of Moscow on Medvedev's instruction, Interfax reported.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/10/poland-president-lech-kaczynski-killed

It wasn't a commercial flight but an airforce aircraft used to airlift executives.

Sad news.


I wonder if any Nigeria's Prophets of Doom will take credit for this as usual? Idiot!c morons.

Sun of god:

Sad news,

Anyway - I thinks this belongs in the foreign affairs section. It has nothing to do with Nigerian politics.

Moderator, shift the post.

PS: Do we know how Jonathan travelled? Did he take the Presidential Jet or Okada air?

    LWKMD

Suspicions surround his twin brother who's also a politician, (In opposition)

Apparently they had some differences. That's politics!

Anyway, I'm yet to see how this is linked to Nigerian politics - Its is foreign affairs.

Moderator, for the 2nd time, please shift this post!

Sun of god:

Suspicions surround his twin brother who's also a politician, (In opposition)

Is this an opinion or just baseless assumptions? Surely bad weather and fog are good enough reason not to cast suspicions?

In fact, I am going right ahead to blame America and Israel for this.  It is better before anybody beat me to it.

may his soul and that of other passengers rest in perfect peace.

Yeah - those are typical weather conditions for that region (fog/snow/blizards and the pilots were experienced.

The black box should shed some light on the matter.

No witnesses have come forward.

So sad, black day for Poland,

I wish Nigerians are also symphatetic when Nigerian politicians die

real4life:

So sad, black day for Poland,

I wish Nigerians are also symphatetic when Nigerian politicians die

We do, we usually just take out a mid page newspaper obituary advert.

Dont worry,

Putin is leading the investigations and so we shall all know the truth soon -  

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to head a commission looking into the crash and dispatched to the scene Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu, and top aviation and investigation officials.

O ma se o!

ElRazur:

Is this an opinion or just baseless assumptions? Surely bad weather and fog are good enough reason not to cast suspicions?

In fact, I am going right ahead to blame America and Israel for this.  It is better before anybody beat me to it.

Nigerians!

That is how they start a rumour which would than rapidly morph into a "fact", that some fool would soon start using in his arguments on NL. 

Sad news!

I am grateful it is not Nigerian President, otherwise we would have seen the all singing, all dancing bandwagon of fools choir coming here to deliver their favourite hymn: "Nigeria is a failed state!"

Sun of god:

Dont worry,

Putin is leading the investigations and so we shall all know the truth soon -  

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to head a commission looking into the crash and dispatched to the scene Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu, and top aviation and investigation officials.

Ordered Putin?

Where im get the liver?

I can guarantee you that the journalist that wrote such rubbish would not be seen for the next 5 years.

Medvedev ordered Putin? LWKMD