Antonov crash: It will take even a month to remove ammunition – TENX teams increased to eight

The process of removing the debris and cleaning the site from the ammunition carried by the Antonov will take even more than a month, the mayor of Pangai Philippos Anastasiadis told APE-MPE.

According to the mayor, “it is a particularly difficult processwhich requires careful handling, which, as we have been informed, will last even more than a month, in order to ensure that there will not be the slightest risk for citizens and especially farmers, who will have to move within the agricultural lands, where fell the fatal Antonov”.

The mayor announced that they increased from two to eight teams of the Dry Mine Clearance Battalion (TENX), in order to speed up the work of pyrotechnicians. The total of eight groups of seven people, who are now operating in the wider area where the aircraft crashed, will have to thoroughly check a rural area of ​​more than 1,000 acres, while where necessary they will carry out controlled explosions.

“The work of pyrotechnicians is not easy at all” notes Mr. Anastasiadis and explains: “they have to work wearing special uniforms under high temperatures, with all that this implies for how long someone can work under these conditions . However, there is a more general concern as in addition to the munitions that are visible, there are also those that may be under the surface of the soil. It is, therefore, understood that until this entire difficult cleaning process is completed, the measure of banning the movement of agricultural machinery, agricultural cars and citizens throughout the disputed area, which remains blocked, will continue.

How producers will be compensated

At the same time, there is great concern among the residents of the local communities of Antiphilippi and Paleochori about the fate of the production and cultivated lands, within which the fatal aircraft has fallen or are located in the wider area, which has been blocked off. This exclusion does not allow any access to the cultivated lands for any agricultural work.

The mayor of Pangaiou is, however, absolutely clear: “unfortunately all these crops have been destroyed, they cannot be used. Besides, from where the groups of pyrotechnicians are passing it makes sense that they destroy the crops in order to investigate the ground. So, the big question that arises is by which body and how will the producers be compensated.

The only thing that is certain is that they cannot be compensated by ELGA. Therefore, on behalf of the municipality, we will offer all possible assistance and initiate those procedures so that the farmers of the area can be compensated as soon as possible by the body that will be decided by the authorities involved.”

Complete restoration of the electricity supply

Three 24 hours after the fall of the fatal Antonov, electricity and water supply have now been fully restored to all settlements around the tragic plane crash. According to the mayor, this was made possible with the cooperation of the army and the technical crews of DEDDIE, who managed to enter the disputed area of ​​the impact and restore the damage suffered by the network”.

Mr. Anastasiadis, speaking to APE-MPE, talks about an unprecedented and dramatic situation experienced by the local community of Antiphilippi and Paleochori, which both the municipality of Pangaio and all the involved bodies tried to manage in the best possible way in order to provide solutions and make difficult decisions.

Corn festival in Antiphilippi

Within this environment and under these conditions, the local community of Antiphilippi is preparing the Saturday July 23rd to organize the annual Corn Festivalwhich has been held for the past 18 years.

After a forced three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the cultural and educational association of Antiphilippi will celebrate this year’s corn harvest produced by the region with a large traditional feast, giving residents and visitors the opportunity to unwind from a particularly difficult situation they experienced. the last days.

It is a tragic irony that the Antonov crashed in a corn field…

RES-EMP

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