A Ukrainian cargo plane crashes in Greece. People shouldn’t leave their homes.
Update from Sunday, July 17, 10:30 a.m .: There are said to have been 11.5 tons of ammunition 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 on Sunday, the Greek news agency ANA reported. 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 intended to transport weapons from Serbia to Ukraine.
The cargo was loaded at Nis Airport on Saturday evening, Stefanovic said. The plane then made its way to Bangladesh, scheduled stopovers were Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Over the northern Aegean, the pilot reported engine problems and requested an emergency landing. However, the machine did not make it to the nearest airport – it crashed in a field near two villages. Explosions could then be heard for hours, firefighters noticed a toxic, acrid smell and cordoned off the area.
Plane crash in Greece: At least eight people died
First report from Sunday, July 17: Kavala – A Ukrainian Antonov An-12 cargo plane crashed near the northeast Greek city of Kavala late on Saturday evening (July 16). According to media reports, eight people were on board, and nobody survived the accident. Residents in the area were asked to keep their windows closed and not turn on their air conditioners.
The Ministry of Citizen Protection sent a corresponding warning SMS. The Antonov An-12 is said to have had twelve tons of “toxic goods” on board, the state broadcaster ERT reported on Sunday night (July 17). It was not initially known what exactly the cargo was.
Greece: Pilot requested emergency landing – people film plane crash
The Ukrainian Antonov was reportedly taking off from Nis, Serbia, and en route to Amman, Jordan, when the pilot reported engine problems and requested an emergency landing at the airport in the city of Kavala. The flight tracker Flightradar24 showed how the plane changed course near the Chalkidiki peninsula over the North Aegean towards Kavala – but the crew couldn’t make it until then. The plane crashed in an uninhabited area near the villages of Paleochori and Antifilippi, less than 40 kilometers from Kalava.
In the area, a number of people saw and filmed the crash of the plane, which was already on fire in the air and was therefore clearly visible in the night sky. First, a large contingent of fire brigades, ambulances and police arrived, but the rescue services soon withdrew. “Even though we wore masks, the air was unbearable. There was not only smoke, but also acrid fumes,” a firefighter told reporters. Two firefighters were taken to the hospital with respiratory problems.
Greece plane crash: Mayor rules out chemical and nuclear toxins
The mayor of the affected municipality of Pangeo, Filippos Anastasiadis, confirmed that night that the machine had loaded “dangerous material”. It was probably ammunition, he told the state broadcaster ERT and assured that there were no chemical or nuclear warfare agents. The military is on the way to the scene of the accident.
For hours after the crash, explosions could be heard from the burning remains of the plane. The rubble of the Antonow is said to be spread within a radius of 800 meters, the area has been cordoned off over a large area. According to experts, terms like “toxic good” can mean many different things; including ammunition, weapons, but also batteries for military purposes, which would also release toxic gases in the event of a fire. (nak/dpa)
A plane crash in Nepal in June killed 22 people – including two people from Hesse.
