File photo of Lech Kaczyński Polish President Lech Kaczyński , travelling with 95 other people, died when his plane crashed in Russia. Officials say the crash, which occurred when the plane was approaching a Russian airport on Saturday, was due to dense fog, and that there are no survivors. The Polish Central Bank governor, Slawomir Skrzypek , and other members of the Polish government were amongst those onboard. The crash was near Smolensk airport in western Russia. Kaczyński's wife was killed along with him when the Tupolev Tu-154 went down; the trip to Russia was to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre , when thousands of Polish prisoners of war and civilians were killed by the Soviets. "The plane caught fire after the crash. Teams began attempting to pull out passengers from the badly damaged airplane," commented a spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry from Warsaw . The chief of Poland's military force, Franciszek Gagor and Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer were among the victims. With the Polish president deceased, the speaker of the lower house of the parliament known as the Sejm , currently Bronislaw Komorowski, takes over as head of state, Komorowski's assistant Jerzy Smolinski told the Reuters news agency. Kaczyński is survived by his daughter Marta and by his identical twin brother, Jarosław Kaczyński who was Prime Minister of Poland from 2006 to 2007 and is currently chairman of the Law and Justice Party he co-founded with Lech. Both brothers were child actors who starred in the 1962 film, The Two Who Stole the Moon . The Tupolev Tu-154, which was operated by the Polish Air Force , made its debut flight in 1990. 2,725 people have died in the 66 crashes involving this type of aircraft. File photo of the Tupolev Tu-154 involved in the crash. According to the flight manifest , those on board included: Lech Kaczyński , the President of Poland Maria Kaczyńska , the first lady of Poland Ryszard Kaczorowski , the last President of the Polish government-in-exile Jerzy Szmajdziński , the Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Władysław Stasiak , Chief of Office of the President of the Republic of Poland Aleksander Szczygło , head of the National Security Bureau Paweł Wypych , Secretary of State in the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland Mariusz Handzlik , Undersecretary of State in the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Kremer , Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs General Franciszek Gągor , Chief of the Polish Army General Staff Sławomir Skrzypek , President of the National Bank of Poland. Andrzej Przewoźnik , Secretary-General of Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites and several members of the Sejm . Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk remarked that "[w]e stand in the face of an incredible tragedy, one of the biggest tragic events of our nation's history. It is definitely the most tragic event in the post-war history of Poland." Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd also expressed his condolences. "The tragic death of president Kaczincki of Poland is a great loss to the people of the Polish Republic and of course to the government of the Polish Republic," he said. "This has been an extraordinary tragedy involving the loss of nearly 100 people. On behalf of the Australian Government we extend our condolences to the Polish people, to the the Polish government and our thoughts and our prayers are with them all." 
File photo of Lech Kaczyński Polish President , travelling with 95 other people, died in Russia. Officials say the crash, which occurred when the plane was approaching a Russian airport on Saturday, was due to dense fog, and that there are no survivors. The Polish Central Bank governor, , and other members of the Polish government were amongst those onboard. The crash was near Smolensk airport in western Russia. Kaczyński's wife was killed along with him when the went down; the trip to Russia was to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the , when thousands of Polish prisoners of war and civilians were killed by the Soviets. "The plane caught fire after the crash. Teams began attempting to pull out passengers from the badly damaged airplane," commented a spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry from . The chief of Poland's military force, Franciszek Gagor and Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer were among the victims. With the Polish president deceased, the speaker of the lower house of the parliament known as the , currently Bronislaw Komorowski, takes over as head of state, Komorowski's assistant Jerzy Smolinski told the Reuters news agency. Kaczyński is survived by his daughter Marta and by his identical twin brother, who was Prime Minister of Poland from 2006 to 2007 and is currently chairman of the Party he co-founded with Lech. Both brothers were child actors who starred in the 1962 film, . The Tupolev Tu-154, which was operated by the , made its debut flight in 1990. 2,725 people have died in the 66 crashes involving this type of aircraft. File photo of the Tupolev Tu-154 involved in the crash. According to the , those on board included: , the President of Poland , the first lady of Poland , the last President of the , the Deputy Speaker of the Sejm , Chief of , head of the , Secretary of State in the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland , Undersecretary of State in the , Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs General , Chief of the Polish Army General Staff , President of the . , Secretary-General of and several members of the . Prime Minister of Poland remarked that "[w]e stand in the face of an incredible tragedy, one of the biggest tragic events of our nation's history. It is definitely the most tragic event in the post-war history of Poland." Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd also expressed his condolences. "The tragic death of president Kaczincki of Poland is a great loss to the people of the Polish Republic and of course to the government of the Polish Republic," he said. "This has been an extraordinary tragedy involving the loss of nearly 100 people. On behalf of the Australian Government we extend our condolences to the Polish people, to the the Polish government and our thoughts and our prayers are with them all." Sister links
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