All 19 on board Polish aircraft die in crash
2008-01-23 20:01:27 Xinhua English
File photo of CASA C-295M military transport plane. A military plane, CASA C-295M military transport plane, carrying 18 officers and crew from a flight- safety conference crashed Wednesday while trying to land in northwestern Poland, killing at least seven people, military and emergency officials said. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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WARSAW, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- All 19 people on board a Polish military transport aircraft died when it crashed late Wednesday near the Miroslawiec airport in northwest Poland, an airport spokesman said Thursday.
"Nobody survived the accident," Bogdan Ziolkowski told reporters.
The Spanish-built CASA C-295M transporter was approaching the West Pomeranian town of Miroslawiec when it went down in woods close to a Polish air force base runway, before setting on fire, Polish news agency PAP reported, quoting local fire services.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defence Minister Bogdan Klich visited the crash site during the night. President Lech Kaczynski, on a visit to Croatia, announced that he would return to Poland Thursday.
According to the Polish military, there were 15 passengers and four crew on board. Poland's TVN24 all-news television channel said the plane was carrying officials taking part in an aviation safety conference.
The C-295M is a medium-range, twin-turboprop aircraft developed by the Madrid-based manufacturer, Construccionnes Aeronauticas SA (Casa).
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