Macedonia president is missing after crash

BITONJA, Bosnia-Herzegovina - Macedonia state radio switched to classical music and the government declared a day of mourning after President Boris Trajkovski was missing and presumed dead in a plane crash Thursday in southern Bosnia.

Mourners lit candles in front of Trajkovski's office in the capital, Skopje, and condolences poured in from world leaders. Secretary of State Colin Powell called the moderate Trajkovski "a great friend of the United States" who helped put his ethnically divided nation on "a stable footing."

The president's party initially said he died in the crash near Bitonja, 50 miles south of Sarajevo - a remote, rocky area of mountainous southern Bosnia.

However, NATO peacekeepers said the wreckage was not found, contrary to a report by Bosnian police, and Macedonia's government said the 47-year-old president was officially considered missing and presumed dead.

An air search was called off at nightfall, but foot patrols continued into the evening, said Capt. Dave Sullivan, spokesman for NATO-led peacekeepers aiding the search.

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