A total of 96 people were on board the plane that crashed in the western Russian city of Smolensk on Saturday, killing all on board including Polish president Lech Kaczynski, emergency officials said.
 |
| People stand near the wreckage of a Polish government Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft that crashed near Smolensk airport April 10, 2010. Pilot error was a possible reason for the plane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski and central bank governor Slawomir Skrzypek on Saturday, a spokesman for the Smolensk local government said. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin |
"According to confirmed information, there were 96 people aboard the Tu-154 that crashed near Smolensk, including 88 members of the Polish delegation," a spokesperson for the Emergency Situations Ministry told Interfax news agency.
Earlier the Smolensk regional governor said the plane had least 85 people on board when it crashed and broke up in flames at an airport outside Smolensk.
Polish officials confirmed Kaczynski was on the plane and Russian officials confirmed everyone on the plane was killed.
Bronislaw Komorowski, head of the Polish lower house or Sejm, will take over presidential duties in line with the constitution after President Lech Kaczynski died in a plane crash on Saturday.
"Bronislaw Komorowski, the Marshal of the Sejm, is on his way to Warsaw from (the northern city of) Gdansk, where he was on Saturday morning," his office announced.
Kaczynski and other Polish officials died as their plane crashed during a landing in the western Russian city of Smolensk on Saturday morning.
Komorowski, 57, is the official candidate of the liberal Civic Platform (PO) for presidential elections scheduled for autumn.
He was expected to take on Kaczynski, representing the conservative right wing, who however had not officially announced his candidacy.
The Polish government was scheduled to hold an emergency meeting in Warsaw early Saturday afternoon, said government spokesman Pawel Gras.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk and other government ministers were on their way to the Polish capital, he added.
