Warszawa pogrążona w żałobie

Thousands of grieving Poles gathered in Warsaw in front of the Presidential Palace to honour Polish President Lech Kaczyński and 95 other people who died along him in a plane crash near Smolensk, Russia, on Saturday April 10th, 2010.

Whole Poland mourns for its tragic loss. Lech Kaczyński together with his wife, politicians, top military officials and numerous intellectuals from Polish public life was flying to attend the 70th anniversary of Russian execution on over 20,000 Polish officers in Katyń. Their plane crashed not reaching the airport’s runway.

Crowds have gathered outside the Presidental Palace. People come to light candles, lay wreaths and say prayers together. Some stand in silence in commemoration of the victims, some cry woefully. The tragedy shattered the whole country.