Polish President killed in a Plane crash

The Polish president and his wife.

A presidential plane crashed in western Russia, killing 97 people.


Seems ordinary, eh? Except for the word 'presidential' that came before the word 'plane'.


These 97 people were talking about are government officials.


And not just government officials.


They are the leaders.



The president of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, his wife, and his staff - army chief of staff, the navy chief commander, and heads of the air and land forces, national bank president, deputy foreign minister, army chaplain, head of the National Security Office, deputy parliament speaker, Olympic Committee head, civil rights commissioner and at least two presidential aides and three lawmakers - were among those on board when it crashed.


No survivors.


The tragedy took a huge chunk in the government of Poland. On the other hand, the deaths will not result to the halt of the functioning of the Polish government. Most top government ministers weren't aboard the plane.


Ironic, so they say. The plane was headed to events marking the 70th anniversary of the massacre of thousands of Polish officers by Soviet secret police in Katyn forest.


Several leaders all around the world expressed their grief at the tragedy.


"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Kaczynski family, the loved ones of those killed in this tragic plane crash, and the Polish nation," U.S. President Obama said in a statement. The president planned to attend the funeral, but volcanic activities of an Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull prevented him from coming.


Pope Benedict XVI said in a condolence message that he learned of the deaths with "deep pain" and that he wanted to assure the Polish people of his "spiritual closeness" in this moment.


French President Nicolas Sarkozy in a statement paid tribute to Kaczynski. "Lech Kaczynski devoted his life to his country. A tireless defender of the ideas in which he believed, he always battled with conviction for the values that founded his entry into politics: democracy, liberty and the fight against totalitarianism," Sarkozy said.


As for me, I can only say that my prayers go with the Kaczynski family and the whole nation of Poland. I hope that they can do what it takes to recover from this sad and shocking tragedy.