Tears Welcome Poland’s First Lady as Her Body Returns Home
Warsaw – The body of Poland’s late first lady was met by an emotional welcome when it was flown home from Russia on Tuesday, April 13. On the same day, the Parliament organized a special event dedicated to their president and the rest of the lawmakers who were killed in the plane crash.
Resting in a wooden casket covered with Poland’s white and red flag, Maria Kaczynska’s body arrived at Warsaw’s Okecie airport at 10:30 am. Her remains were aboard a military CASA plane and were met by Marta, her only child, and by the late president’s twin, Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
The late first lady’s body was taken to the Presidential Palace inside a Mercedes Benz hearse, the same way her husband’s remains were ferried on Sunday, April 11.
Although Tuesday was a workday in Poland, hordes of Warsaw residents lined the road to the palace while gently tossing bouquets of flowers on top of the vehicle.
The coffins containing the first couple’s bodies will be placed on view to the public at large in the Columned Hall of the Presidential Palace, so that people can pay their respects.
The Tu-154 crashed while it was trying to land during foggy weather at Smolensk in Russia. Everyone aboard was killed, including President Lech Kaczynski and several other military, religious and political leaders of Poland.
