Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, April 10 - The President of the State sent a message of condolence to Bronislaw Komorowski, the Speaker of the Polish Sejm who was acting as President following the death of President Lech Kaczynski in a plane crash.
In the telegram, the President expressed his deep sorrow upon hearing about the untimely death of President Kaczynski and his entourage in the plane crash near Smolensk. He conveyed sincere condolences on behalf of the Chinese people and in his personal capacity to President Kaczynski and all the victims, and extended heartfelt sympathy to their families and the Polish people.
On the same day, Premier Wen Jiabao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi also sent telegrams of condolence to Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski of Poland.
According to reports from Warsaw and Moscow on April 10 (by correspondents Jin Zhao and Zhang Guangzheng), the Tupolev-154 aircraft carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski crashed at 10:50 AM Moscow time (2:50 PM Beijing time) near Smolensk, Russia. All passengers on board were killed. According to information from Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry, there were 97 people on the plane, including 88 members of the Polish delegation.
This special flight took off that morning from the Polish capital, Warsaw, originally intended to participate in memorial activities for the Katyn massacre victims held in Russia. According to the passenger list provided by the Polish side, apart from the presidential couple, other passengers included the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, the President's Chief of Staff, the Governor of the National Bank, and many other high-ranking military and political officials and well-known figures in Polish society.
After the accident, the Presidential Palace in Poland flew flags at half-mast as a sign of mourning. Meanwhile, Bronislaw Komorowski, the Speaker of the Polish Sejm who is acting as President, announced that a week-long national mourning period would be held.