The editor in chief of Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita has resigned after publishing an article claiming explosives were found at the scene of the 2010 plane crash that killed then Polish President Lech Kaczynski.In a notice on the paper’s website, Tomasz Wrobelewski announced that he was stepping down as editor in chief to protect the newspaper’s "good name.”
On October 30 the paper published an article claiming that traces of explosives had been found at the Smolensk site where the plane carrying Kaczynski and other top officials crashed.
This claim contradicts official accounts of what caused the crash, and was immediately rejected by representatives of the Polish Prosecutor’s Office.
The paper conceded it had made an error of judgment, held a press conference, and published a statement on its website.
The Tu-154 plane, carrying a delegation of senior Polish officials, crashed in heavy fog as it attempted to land at an airfield near the western Russian city of Smolensk on April 10, 2010. There were no survivors in the crash that killed eight crew and 88 passengers.
The Moscow-based Interstate Aviation Committee (MAK) put the blame on the Polish crew in its probe into the accident. Poland, which carried out a separate investigation, partially blamed Russian air controllers for the tragedy.
Neither investigation found any indication that explosives were involved in the incident.
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