A large cargo plane has crashed and exploded in a fireball near Paleochori Kavalas in northern Greece.
Witnesses said the Antonov An-12 plane was on fire and that they heard explosions as it flew over the area on Saturday night, the Athens News Agency reported.
A local resident, Yorgos Archontopoulos, told state broadcaster ERT that he felt something was wrong as soon as he heard the plane’s engine. “At 10.45pm I was startled by the sound of the engine… I went outside and saw the engine on fire.”
Flames erupt at the crash site of an Antonov An-12 cargo plane owned by a Ukrainian company near Kavala, Greece. Photo: Eurokinissi/Reuters
Local authorities said seven fire engines were sent to the crash site but could not get close because of the ongoing explosions. One of the deputy mayors told ERT that explosions were heard two hours after the crash.
Greek media reported that the plane had eight people on board and was carrying about 11 tonnes of “hazardous materials”, mostly explosives. But local officials said they had no specific information about the cargo and provided a different number of people on board.
Police asked journalists at the scene to wear masks, ERT said.
Greek civil aviation authorities said the flight was headed from Serbia to Jordan. The Soviet-built turboprop aircraft was operated by the Meridian cargo carrier.
As a precautionary measure due to a strong smell wafting from the crash site, a coordination committee made up of municipal, police and fire officials told residents of the two settlements closest to the crash site to keep their windows closed all night. not to leave their homes and wear masks.
Authorities said they did not know whether any hazardous chemicals, including those contained in the batteries, were on board the plane.
The Greek Civil Aviation Authority said the pilot notified authorities of a problem with one of the plane’s engines and was given a choice to land at Thessaloniki airport or Kavala, and he chose Kavala, which was closer, saying he had to make an emergency landing.
Communication with the aircraft was lost almost immediately afterwards. The plane crashed about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of the airport.
“We heard explosions until a few minutes ago,” said Philippos Anastasiadis, mayor of Pagaio municipality, just over an hour after the incident. “I am about 300 meters from the crash site.
ERT reported that it was a Ukrainian plane, which villagers said was already on fire before it crashed. The plane was still burning, according to live footage broadcast on state television.
One firefighter told reporters at the scene: “You have to leave for your own safety. There is information that the plane was carrying ammunition.
Anastasiadis told Open TV: “The plane crashed about two kilometers from a populated area.”
ERT said the army and explosives experts were traveling to the site, located in farmland near two villages that are part of Pagayo municipality. But they weren’t expected to start work before dawn.
Experts from the Greek Atomic Energy Commission were to join them.
With the Associated Press
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