Posted on 04/11/2010 3:58:18 AM PDT by lizol
Poland mourns
11.04.2010 09:59
Two minutes of silence were held in Poland at noon, Sunday, for President Lech Kaczynski, First Lady Maria and 94 other victims who died in the plane crash near Smolensk air base yesterday.
Speaker of Parliament and acting head of state Bronislaw Komorowski announced a week of national mourning in a special TV address on Saturday evening, as Poland tried to get to grips with a plane crash that killed many leading politicians and military establishment figures, their way to Katyn memorial ceremonies.
The body of the President and First Lady Maria will be returned to Poland this afternoon. Yesterday, Lech’s twin brother Jaroslaw was in Smolensk to identify the bodies. The other bodies are being taken to Moscow for identification. Funerals will take place on Tuesday.
Thousands of people have been gathering outside the Presidential Palace in Warsaw to pay their respects, and where books of condolences can be signed from 08.00 to 22.00 CET. Flags gave been lowered to half mast throughout the country.
Polish MPs issued a joint communiqué: “We express deep sympathy and join in prayer with the family of President Lech Kaczynski and the families of the victims. […] Poland has lost a great man and patriot."
President Dimitry Medvedev announced that there would be a national day of mourning in Russia on Monday.
A team of Russian and Polish investigators are at the scene of the accident, which occurred around one kilometre from the air base in heavy fog. The two black boxes from the Tupolev Tu-154 were found yesterday afternoon and are being examined in the hope that they shed light on why the plane was flying so low that it touched the tops of trees and plunged to the ground where it broke into pieces and burst into flames.
Russians say that the pilot was offered landings in either Moscow or Minsk airports where weather conditions were better. There are also reports that the pilot was warned that he was flying too low.
God bless & comfort Poland.
Call me a Cynic but if one of the ATC folks that was vectoring the plane turns up missing soon or dead then I was right. Reminds me of the Klinton days.
I’m still wondering if the pilots were Soviet moles.
And prayers also for the Archbishop who died in this crash!
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