A Ukrainian cargo plane carrying 12 tons of “dangerous cargo” crashes over Greece. The extinguishing work is difficult due to the ongoing explosions. The Antonov was carrying ammunition. It is unclear who it was intended for.
11.5 tons of ammunition were on board the cargo plane that crashed near the northern Greek city of Kavala on Saturday evening. Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said this at a press conference in Belgrade, as reported by the Greek news agency ANA. It is ammunition for mortars that is produced in Serbia.
The aircraft had all the necessary permits for transport. The minister denied claims in the media that the Antonov was supposed to transport weapons from Serbia to Ukraine.
The Antonov AN-12 burst into flames while trying to make an emergency landing near the village of Paleochori on Saturday evening. According to ERT, there were eight people on board the machine. The fire brigade was initially unable to approach the crash site because of the sustained explosions. On Sunday morning, two firefighters had to be taken to the hospital with breathing difficulties due to toxic fumes.
According to media reports, the Antonov of a Ukrainian airline was en route from Serbia to Jordan when the crew requested emergency landing clearance at Greece’s Kavala airport. However, the machine did not make it until then, but according to eyewitnesses, fell shortly before 11:00 p.m. (local time, 10:00 p.m. CEST) into an uninhabited area. Accordingly, the machine was already on fire before the crash.
A firefighter on site initially spoke of information “according to which the plane transported ammunition”. He urged reporters to move away from the crash site. The police also asked the journalists to put on protective masks. Residents within a two-kilometer radius were also asked to stay in their homes and wear protective masks on Saturday evening.
