Story breaking the last couple of hours, here in Europe (I have CNN International droning on in the background, but not a word there, yet).
Polish President Lech Kaczynski ‘in plane crash’
A plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski has crashed near a Russian airport, officials say.
Russian media reported that 87 people were killed in the crash near Smolensk, and a regional governor was quoted as saying there were no survivors.
Polish officials said Mr Kaczynski was on board along with his wife Maria and several senior government figures.
They were in Russia to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre, when the Soviets killed thousands of Poles.
Polish president among 130 dead in plane crash
Polish President Lech Kaczynski was killed when a plane carrying 132 people crashed in thick fog on its approach to a Russian airport on Saturday, killing everyone on board, officials said.
Central bank governor Slawomir Skrzypek and several senior government officials were also among those on board the Tupolev Tu-154 plane, which came down as it neared Smolensk airport in western Russia.
Smolensk regional governor Sergei Antufyev, speaking on Russian television, said there were no survivors.
[…]
Kaczynski had been flying to Katyn, near Smolensk, to commemorate Russian and Polish victims of Soviet leader Josef Stalin.
Thousands of Polish prisoners of war and intellectuals were murdered at Katyn by Soviet forces in spring 1940 in an enduring symbol for Poles of their suffering under Soviet rule.
Families of those killed at Katyn were also on board the plane, the Polish government official at the airport said.
