A Polish army prosecutor probing the plane crash that killed former president Lech Kaczynski gave an agitated news conference today then excused himself and, with cameras still rolling, stepped into a side room and shot himself, RT television reports.

Prosecutor Mikolaj Przybyl was rushed to a hospital in Poznan, in western Poland, and is expected to survive without only injuries to his face.

Only moments before, Przybyl had asked journalists to excuse him as he needed to rest for a few minutes. With cameras and microphones still on, he walked behind his desk and off screen. A "click" is heard and then a shot.

In his brief remarks to reporters, he had defended his investigation into the 2010 plane crash near Smolensk, Russia, that killed President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and much of the country's top political leaders, Russia RT television reports.

One issue raised at the news conference was his recent attempt to plug leaks from his office by seeking the phone records of journalists.

He told reporters that the military prosecutor's office had the right to seek the phone and text records and rejected planned moves to put the military prosecutors under civilian control, the Associated Press reports.