A Ukrainian cargo plane carrying munitions from Serbia to Bangladesh crashed near the northern Greek city of Kavala late on Saturday, Serbian officials said Sunday.
Drone footage of the scene showed wreckage of the Antonov An-12 aircraft strewn across the fields. Greek authorities said there were eight crew members on board and a Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said they were all Ukrainian nationals.
Serbia’s defense minister said the plane was carrying 11.5 tonnes of products made by its defense industry and that the buyer was the Bangladeshi Ministry of Defence. All crew members were killed.
Greek authorities could not provide information about the aircraft’s cargo, but the special disaster response unit and army specialists were sent to investigate the scene.
Serbia’s Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said the cargo included lighting mortars and training bombs. “The plane transported 11.5 tons of products made by our defense industry. The buyer was the Ministry of Defense of Bangladesh,” Stefanovic said.
He added that the plane’s cargo was owned by the Serbian company Valir, a commercial company registered to carry out foreign trade activities in military equipment, weapons and other defense products.
Greek state TV ERT said the aircraft’s signal was lost shortly after the pilot requested an emergency landing from Greek aviation authorities due to an engine problem. Amateur video footage showed the burning aircraft rapidly descending before hitting the ground in what appeared to be an explosion.
A source at Jordan’s civil aviation regulatory commission denied initial reports that the plane was headed for Jordan. The source said his flight itinerary included a stopover at Jordan’s Queen Alia international airport for refueling, state news agency Petra reported on Sunday.
The wider area in Greece where the aircraft crashed has been cordoned off since Saturday night. Nearby residents were advised to keep windows and doors closed and avoid the incident area.
On Sunday morning, a brigade officer told reporters that firefighters “felt their lips burning” and white dust floating in the air. “We don’t know what is affecting us,” said fire department coordinator Marios Apostolidis.
Source: CNN Brasil
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