A cargo plane operated by a Ukrainian company and carrying over 11 tons of Serbian munitions crashed in Northern Greece Saturday night, in a fiery wreck that killed all eight crewmen.
Greek authorities said the pilot reported engine trouble and requested an emergency landing, but ultimately the plane crashed 25 miles west of the nearest airport, where it was going to attempt a landing. Bystander video shows the plane already burning before it ultimately crashes and a fireball erupts. Locals reported hearing explosions for two hours after the crash occurred.
A large cargo plane carrying "dangerous" cargo crashed in northern Greece.
Eyewitness video in Paleochori Kavala of the plane crash show it on fire before it crashed.
Greek television says it was Ukrainian and had 8 people on board. pic.twitter.com/vEyQ5IQfi3— jon smythers (@jonsmythers) July 17, 2022
BREAKING: A cargo aircraft travelling from Serbia to Jordan crashed at Kavala airport in northern Greece. State-run broadcaster ERT television reported that it was an Ukrainian Antonov aircraft #Planecrash #Greece pic.twitter.com/JyufMooWFh
— BNN Newsroom (@BNNBreaking) July 16, 2022
In a statement, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said,
At night in northern Greece, a Ukrainian AN-12 transport aircraft carrying a dangerous cargo on the route Serbia-Jordan-Bangladesh crashed. The crew consisted of eight Ukrainian citizens. The previous cause of the accident is the failure of one of the engines.
At the assignment of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba on the basis of the Consulate of Ukraine in Thessaloniki created an operational headquarters. Ukrainian consuls have already arrived at the scene of the disaster and are interacting with rescuers and law enforcement of Greece to investigate the circumstances of the incident. Rescue work and firefighting are currently underway.
The Daily Mail reports that Serbian defense minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said “the plane was carrying 11.5 tonnes of products made by its defense industry and the buyer was Bangladesh defense ministry,” and that “the plane’s cargo was owned by Serbian company Valir, a trade company registered to perform foreign trade activities of armament military equipment and other defense products.”
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There are currently no reports of casualties on the ground. Greek authorities have cordoned off the area and locals are advised to remain indoors and keep windows and doors sealed.
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