By Xinhua
Warsaw : Nineteen people on board a Polish military transport aircraft have been killed after it crashed 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 the woods close to a Polish air force base runway late Wednesday, before going up on fire, Polish news agency PAP reported, quoting local fire services.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defence Minister Bogdan Klich visited the crash site Wednesday 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 members 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).