The Queen paid tribute last night to Poland’s president Lech Kaczynski, who died along with his wife and 95 others when his plane crashed as it attempted to land at a Russian airport.
There were no survivors in the crash, which happened in thick fog yesterday. The president’s party was on its way to commemorate a massacre of Polish officers in 1940 by Soviet secret police.
In a message of condolence, the Queen described her “sorrow” and sent her “deepest sympathy” to the government and the people of Poland.
Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, said the accident was the most tragic event in Polish history since the Second World War.
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