A cargo plane crashed on Saturday (16) near the city of Kavala, in northern Greece. According to Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic, all eight crew members of the aircraft died in the crash, and a spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry confirmed that the entire crew was of Ukrainian origin.
The aircraft was an Antonov An-12 owned by the Ukrainian company Meridian LTD, which was flying from Serbia to Bangladesh, Stefanovic said at a press conference with journalists.
Also according to the minister, the freighter was carrying 11.5 tons of weapons from the Serbian company Valir, including illuminating mortars and training projectiles, which were purchased by the Ministry of Defense of the Asian country.
Denis Bogdanovich, the airline’s director general, told Reuters that the drop was not related to Ukraine or Russia.​
State television network ERT said the plane’s signal was lost shortly after the pilot requested an emergency landing from Greek aviation authorities due to an engine problem.
Images published by the local press showed the burning aircraft descending rapidly before hitting the ground and causing an apparent explosion. At least 15 firefighters and seven trucks acted to fight the fire shortly after the accident.
Girgios Archontopoulos, a local resident, told ERT that he knew something was wrong when he heard the noise the aircraft was making. “At 10:45 pm [hora local]I was surprised by an engine noise”, he said. “I went out and saw the engine on fire”.
