According to authorities, a cargo jet that crashed in northern Greece was transporting 11 tonnes of weaponry, including land mines, to Bangladesh.
The Antonov-12 crash site issued a warning to anyone living within two kilometers of the area to stay indoors.
The plane crashed late on Saturday in the city of Kavala. It was traveling from Serbia to Jordan, killing all eight people on board.
Drones are being used to survey the accident scene
A large fireball and the burning airliner is also visible in eyewitness footage of the disaster.
Drones are being utilized to inspect the scene of the accident on Sunday morning out of an abundance of caution.
The soldiers, explosives specialists, and employees of the Greek Atomic Energy Commission will not approach the site until it was considered secure, according to state-run television.
The Lieutenant General claims that recent measurements show nothing, but the field is unstable.
According to Northern Greece Fire Brigade Lieutenant General Marios Apostolidis, the current (air) measurements have not shown anything, but instability in the field has been noted.
So a special armed forces team must tell us what it is and whether we may approach the field. “In other words, heavy smoke and heat, as well as a white material that we do not recognize.”
Shortly after takeoff, the pilot allegedly requested an emergency landing at the Kavala airport owing to an engine issue, but he was unable to make it to the runway.
Witnesses are astounded that their homes remained unharmed
Residents in the area first observed the plane at around 22:45 local time (19:45 GMT).
Aimilia Tsaptanova, who witnessed the plane’s descent, expressed amazement that their homes weren’t damaged.
She described it as being covered in smoke, making an unidentifiable noise, and flying over a mountain. It turned after passing the mountain and crashed into the fields.
We were alarmed by the flames. Many automobiles arrived, but they were unable to get close due to the constant blasts.
The Defense Minister of Serbia said that training shells and illumination mortar rounds were included in the shipment.
Serbia’s defense minister, Nebojsa Stefanovic, claimed the shipment contained training shells and illumination mortar rounds. It left Serbia’s Nis at 18:40 GMT on Saturday.Â
“11.5 tonnes of goods from our defense industry were brought on board. “The Bangladesh Defense Ministry was the purchaser,” said Stefanovic.
He claimed that the Serbian corporation Valir, which is authorized to engage in the export of armaments, military hardware, and other defense supplies, owned the plane’s cargo.
The Greece state television ERT said that shortly after the pilot asked Greece aviation authorities for an emergency landing because of an engine issue, the aircraft’s communication was lost.
According to Serbia’s Neboja Stefanovic, the Antonov AN-12 was delivering over 11 tonnes of armament built in Serbia to Bangladesh.Â
Although there has been no sign of a connection to the situation in Ukraine, the jet was being flown by Meridian, a Ukrainian freight carrier.
