Thirteen years ago, on April 10, 2010, 96 people died in the crash of the Tu-154M plane in Smolensk, among them President Lech Kaczynski with his wife Maria, and the last Polish president in exile Ryszard Kaczorowski. The Polish delegation was traveling to the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre.
The plane took off from the Warsaw airport just before 7:30 a.m. It flew to Smolensk from where members of the delegation were to travel by car to Katyn, where anniversary ceremonies were scheduled for 9:30 a.m.
At 8.41 a.m., the plane crashed near Smolensk-Seversnyy airport. All those on board died: 89 members of the delegation and 7 members of the Tu-154M crew.
National mourning was declared on the same day, which lasted until April 18 at midnight.
On April 17, state mourning ceremonies were held at Pilsudski Square in Warsaw to honor the victims of the crash. On April 18, presidential couple Lech and Maria Kaczynski were laid to rest in the crypt of Wawel Cathedral. Funerals for the victims of the Smolensk disaster were held until April 28.
