Polish president's body arrives in Warsaw
April 11, 2010 9:41 a.m. EDT
Mourners in Warsaw lay candles and flowers outside the Presidential Palace on Sunday.
- Poles observe two minutes of silence to honor late president Lech Kaczynski
- Kaczynski died with 95 others in a plane crash in Russia on Saturday
- Kaczynski's body returned to Warsaw from Smolensk on Sunday
- Cause of crash unknown; plane appeared to attempt landing in heavy fog
A military guard of honor unloaded a casket containing the body and draped in a Polish flag as dignitaries including Kaczynski's twin brother Jaroslaw, looked on. Family members and mourners took turns to kneel by the casket, apparently in prayer.
Kaczynski's body was earlier handed over to Polish officials in a ceremony at an airfield near the Russian city of Smolensk, close to the crash site.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has been appointed to lead the investigation into the crash, and his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk, were among dignitaries in attendance.
Poles fell silent for two minutes at midday local time on Sunday to remember Kaczynski and the other victims of Saturday's accident. Church bells rang and emergency sirens wailed in tribute as crowds stood with their heads bowed.
Kaczynski, along with his wife and a Polish delegation including senior military officials, were traveling to Russia for the 70th anniversary of the Soviet massacre of Polish army officers in the village of Katyn. But their plane crashed near Smolensk as it tried to land, apparently in heavy fog.
Tens of thousands of Poles have gathered in central Warsaw to lay wreaths and light candles near the presidential palace in commemoration of the victims. Many cried openly while others stared blankly at the sky.
Biography: Leah Kaczynski
Parliament Speaker Bronislaw Komorowski took over as acting president and declared it "a time for national mourning."
World leaders including Russian President Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama paid tribute to Kaczynski.
"President Kaczynski was a distinguished statesman who played a key role in the Solidarity movement, and he was widely admired in the United States as a leader dedicated to advancing freedom and human dignity," Obama said in a statement.
World leaders pay tribute to Kaczynski
The Polish military plane carrying 60-year-old Kaczynski originated in Warsaw, the Polish Defense Ministry said.
It was just a few miles east of Katyn when it crashed around 10:50 a.m. (2:50 a.m. ET) on the outskirts of the town of Pechorsk, close to Smolensk, the Investigation Committee of the Russian prosecutor's office said.
Jaroswal Kaczynski, the president's twin brother and a former Polish prime minister, visited the site of the crash late Saturday.
As others around him prayed, he silently kneeled down on pile of rubble where mourners had propped up flowers.
iReport: Mourners' candles a 'spot of light'
Authorities do not yet know what caused the crash. Russia has emphasized that there is no evidence it was responsible.
The Investigation Committee said the plane, a Tupolev-154, was trying to land in heavy fog. A Russian military official said that air traffic control in Smolensk had tried to divert the plane to another airport because of inclement weather.
"The air traffic control officer gave several orders to divert, but the plane continued with its descent," said Alexander Aleshin, a top Russian air force official. "Unfortunately, this ended in tragedy."
Other Polish officials killed in the crash include Aleksander Szczyglo, the head of the National Security Office; Jerzy Szmajdzinski, the deputy parliament speaker; Andrzej Kremer, the deputy foreign minister; and Gen. Franciszek Gagor, the army chief of staff, according to Kaczynski's Law and Justice Party.
What does crash mean for Polish politics?
The party also said that Slawomir Skrzypek, head of the National Bank of Poland, was killed.
Putin spoke Saturday at the crash site, where charred pieces of the airplane were strewn through a wooded area. Some pieces, including one of the wheel wells, were upside down.
"As our first priority, we must establish the causes of this tragedy," he said. "As a second priority, we must do everything in our power to assist the families and relatives of the deceased."
The plane carrying Kaczynski was refurbished and repaired last year, according to Alexei Gusev, general director of Aviakor Factory, the company that performed the service.
"Speaking openly, we believe that this tragedy could not have been caused by equipment failure," he said.
Kaczynski had been president since December 2005, after he defeated rival Donald Tusk in the second round of voting. Elections must now be held within 60 days.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen in Warsaw, Poland, and Nic Robertson in Smolensk, Russia, contributed to this report.
