Poland: Week of national mourning declared

Smolensk: Jaroslaw Kaczynski has lost his twin brother, Polish President Lech Kaczynski.

A devastating plane crash that went down in Russia on Saturday also killed 95 others including some of the country's top political and military brass and the President's wife, Maria.

The whole country is in mourning. Poland held a two-minute tribute, with church bells and police sirens.

Hundreds of people carried candles and roses and joined a long line to sign a book of condolences.

"We heard it from the radio and it was a shock for us. Because so many people died and the president and his wife and many Polish parliamentarians and important people for us, so it's hard to say," said Konrad Zawicza, citizen of Warsaw.

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The President was on his way to Katyn to mark the 70th anniversary of the massacre of Polish soldiers by the Soviet secret service. The plane tried to land in deep fog in Smolensk.

Investigators say there's a possibility that pilots ignored warnings that they were approaching Smolensk too low.

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Also, the age and condition of the Soviet-era Tupolev 154 plane may have played a part in the crash.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will be overseeing the probe.

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"We need together to do everything possible to find out the reasons for this tragedy in the shortest possible time. That's the first task. The second is to help the relatives of those killed," said Putin.

Sixty-year-old Kaczynski was an unpopular president but was also credited with bringing an end to Communist rule. He wanted to seek a second term in presidential elections this fall. But now, experts say acting President Bronislaw Komorowski's chances of winning are stronger than ever.

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