A cargo plane crashed late on Saturday night near the town of Kavala in northern Greece, Reuters reported, citing the Greek fire service and state television.
According to ERT TV, the plane is “Antonov An-12”, owned by a Ukrainian company and was flying from Serbia to Jordan. The pilot requested an emergency landing due to a problem with one of the engines, but communication with it was lost.
Greek media, cited by the Associated Press, reported that the machine contained 12 tons of hazardous materials, mostly explosives. Local residents said they saw a fireball and explosions were heard for two hours after the crash.
Video footage uploaded to the website ertnews.gr shows the plane in flames descending rapidly before falling to the ground and an explosion is visible. The fire service could not confirm the type of aircraft. How many people were on board is not yet known. In a statement from the service, it said that 15 firefighters with seven tankers were sent to extinguish the fire that broke out after the crash. More rescuers have gone to the place.
A #Ukrainian Antonov transport plane crashed in northern #Greece.
According to preliminary data, the An-12 flew from #Serbia and was heading to #Jordan. Local TV channel ERT reports that the cause of the crash was an engine failure. There were eight crew members on board. pic.twitter.com/qQOLn5Hm9c
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) July 17, 2022
According to France Presse, which cited firefighters, the plane crashed near the town of Paleochori, Kavala County. Eyewitnesses quoted by ERT television say that the machine was on fire even before it crashed.
Video from the crash of the cargo An-12 UR-CIC” of the airline Meridian Air Cargo🇺🇦 16.07.2022 10 NM west of Kavala/KVA (Greece)🇬🇷. The reason was a fire on the engine. The plane flew with military material from Nis/INI (Serbia)🇷🇸 to Amman/AMM (Jordan)🇯🇴. pic.twitter.com/9vC6pkbXsi
— Tomáš Semrád (@Tomas40916602) July 17, 2022
According to local authorities, firefighters and fire trucks dispatched to the scene could not get close to the plane as it was still rocked by explosions.
A Ukrainian-registered Antonov An-12 crashed on Saturday night in Greece. Video shows that it was on fire before the crash: 👇https://t.co/bdK2myBK3g
— MenTourPilot (@MenTourPilot) July 17, 2022
Although there is no official information on the number of people on board, according to ERT there were eight people on the plane and it “was dangerous”. Police have asked journalists near the crash site to wear protective masks. “For your own safety, you must withdraw. There is information that the plane was carrying ammunition,” one firefighter told reporters at the scene.
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