Polish President Lech Kaczynski, a great admirer of India, was killed Saturday with his wife Maria and 130 others including almost all his aides when their aircraft crashed in foggy weather while landing in Russia, officials said.

The disaster, which plunged Poland into grief, occurred when the Russian-built Tupolev 154-M reportedly struck some trees, caught fire and broke up as it approached the airport in Smolensk city in western Russia.