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Polish President Kaczynski, Who Died In Smolensk Crash, Reburied In Krakow


The wreckage of Polish President Lech Kaczynski's plane that crashed in Smolensk in 2010
The wreckage of Polish President Lech Kaczynski's plane that crashed in Smolensk in 2010

The bodies of Poland's former President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, were reburied in Krakow after being exhumed as part of a new investigation into the 2010 Smolensk plane crash that killed them.

Some 50 people were on hand for the ceremony on November 18, including the late president's twin brother Jaroslaw Kaczynski, current President Andrzej Duda, and Prime Minister Beata Szydlo.

The former president was the first of those killed in the crash to be exhumed as part of the probe, which is expected to last at least one year.

Kaczynski's plane crashed while attempting a landing in Smolensk on April 10, 2010, killing all 96 on board, including dozens of other Polish political and military leaders.

Six years later, the incident continues to generate conspiracy theories and poison relations between Poland and Russia, which conducted an investigation that determined the accident was caused by bad weather and pilot error.

Poland at the time conducted an investigation that came to the same conclusions, but Warsaw's new conservative government has questioned the outcome of the initial investigations and demanded a new probe.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski is the leader of the ruling Law and Justice party, which came into power last year.

Based on reporting by AP and dpa

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