Senior bishop dies in crash after Polish State funeral

The deputy head of Poland’s Protestant Church was killed in a car accident while returning home from state funeral ceremonies for President Lech Kaczynski, the church said today.

In a statement on its website, the church said Bishop Mieczyslaw Cieslar, 60, died last night near the city of Lodz, to which he was returning from weekend memorial ceremonies in Warsaw.

Mr Kaczynski died in a plane crash on April 10 in western Russia.

Police confirmed the car crash but no more details were released.