Friday marked exactly 16 years since a Polish plane carrying President Lech Kaczyński, his wife and 94 others, including top political and military figures, crashed near Smolensk, western Russia, killing all those on board.
Anniversary commemorations began with a memorial service in the Polish capital in the morning, after which a group of conservative politicians laid wreaths and lit candles at a statue commemorating the late president in central Warsaw, as well as at a separate monument unveiled in 2018 to honour all 96 victims of the disaster, broadcaster TVP Info reported.
A traditional roll call of honour was held in front of the presidential palace at 8:41 a.m., the exact time of the crash on April 10, 2010.
Tributes were also paid to the late presidential couple in the crypt at Wawel Cathedral in the southern city of Kraków, where they are interred.
Meanwhile, a number of government officials and parliamentary leaders including upper-house Speaker Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska took part in a commemorative event at Warsaw's Powązki Military Cemetery in front of a monument honouring the crash victims.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz attended memorial ceremonies at Kraków's Rakowicki Cemetery, where some of the victims are buried, state news agency PAP reported.
In a separate tribute, lawmakers laid flowers at plaques commemorating parliamentarians who perished in the 2010 plane crash.
A raft of other events were scheduled across the country throughout the day to mark the 16th anniversary of the disaster.
Commemorations in Warsaw were due to conclude in the evening with a March of Remembrance led by Jarosław Kaczyński, head of the opposition conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party and twin brother of the late president.
The wreckage of the Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154 plane that crashed near Smolensk, western Russia, on April 10, 2010. Photo: PAP/ITAR-TASS/Russian Investigative Committee
The officials aboard the ill-fated flight had been travelling to commemorate around 22,000 Polish prisoners of war and intellectuals killed in the spring of 1940 on orders from Soviet authorities in what is known as the Katyn Massacre.
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Source: IAR, PAP, TVP Info
Click on the audio player above for a report by Marcin Matuszewski.