Up all night from the agony he experienced when the Antonov crashed less than a kilometer from his home, an 80-year-old man was sitting on his porch when, he says, “I saw a flash, heard a lot of noise and gradually bam-bam- bam…”
“We heard a deafening sound, a ball of fire approaching the earth. We saw the explosion, but because there was a blackout at the same time, we couldn’t see anything else…”. With this phrase, Sofia, mother of three minor children, from Antiphilippos Kavala, describes to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency the first moments of the accident with the Antonov.
“Things could be worse. We panicked… It’s unprecedented for us,” he says, leaving the village church after the Sunday morning service.
Sleepless all night, from the agony he experienced at her moment crash of the Antonov at a distance of less than one kilometer from his house, 80-year-old Michalis Emmanuilidis was sitting on the veranda when, as he says, “I saw a flash, heard a lot of noise and gradually bam-bam-bam…”.
“If it had fallen a little closer, it would have been on our house. We didn’t sleep at all the whole night because of the shock,” he emphasizes, still unable to believe what has happened.
“My throat was burning…”
Stamatis Kourtesis, who maintains a kiosk in Antifilippoi, was one of the first to arrive together with some other residents of the area at the scene of the crash, almost at the same time as the first fire brigade, as he says, but they left as soon as they were asked by the competent authorities.
“My throat was burning… From the noise we thought it was a helicopter. We turn our heads and see a light, it was the burning aircraft”, he says characteristically and describes the first explosion as a “mushroom of smoke”.
In the neighboring village, Paleochori, Christos Tsolakidis was eating outside with a group of friends when he heard a loud noise. “We saw a flame in the sky, losing height and crashing…”, he says and narrates that for two hours they heard continuous explosions, while an undefined strong smell covered the atmosphere.
Antonov transporter crash in Kavala.
The aircraft’s engine caught fire before the crash. pic.twitter.com/ibwOjCXT71— EᑎIᗩᑕ ® (@VasilisEniac) July 16, 2022
The site where the aircraft crashed is a predominantly rural area, where corn and sunflower seeds are grown, and its former name was Keramiklia.
The inhabitants of Antifilippi are mainly engaged in agricultural work and livestock breeding, while in the neighboring village, Paleochori, the dominant occupation is logging, while there are also a few left who are engaged in the construction industry.
The spotlight had fallen on Antiphilippi – for a different reason, however – and in September 1997, when a mother and daughter (75 and 37 years old respectively) were found murdered in a field, having been shot from a very close range with a carbine, according to the conclusion of the then forensic examination.
But also in 2005, in October, another murder, with a 26-year-old victim and his father-in-law as the perpetrator, had strongly preoccupied public opinion.
RES-EMP
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