An Antonov cargo aircraft operated by a Ukrainian airline crashed Saturday close to town of Kavala in northern Greece, authorities stated. Native residents reported seeing a fireball and listening to explosions for 2 hours after the crash.
Greek Civil Aviation authorities stated the flight was heading from Serbia to Jordan. The An-12, a Soviet-built turboprop plane, was operated by cargo provider Meridian.
Greek media reported there have been eight folks on the aircraft and that it was carrying 12 tons of "harmful supplies," principally explosives. However native officers stated they'd no particular info on the cargo and supplied various numbers of individuals on board.
As a precaution due to a powerful odor emanating from the crash web site, a coordinating committee made up of municipal, police and hearth service officers instructed inhabitants of the 2 localities closest to the crash web site to maintain their home windows shut all night time, to not depart their properties and to put on masks. Authorities say they have no idea if there have been harmful chemical substances on the aircraft, together with these contained in batteries.
Greece's Civil Aviation authority stated the pilot managed to alert authorities about an issue in one of many aircraft's engines and he was given the selection of touchdown in both the Thessaloniki or Kavala airports, and he opted for Kavala, which was nearer, saying that he needed to make an emergency touchdown.
Communication with the aircraft ceased nearly instantly afterwards. The aircraft crashed about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of the airport.
"We have been listening to explosions till a couple of minutes in the past," Filippos Anastassiadis, mayor of the municipality of Paggaio, instructed the Related Press slightly over an hour after the accident. "I'm about 300 meters from the positioning of the crash."
Certainly one of Anastassiadis' deputies instructed state broadcaster ERT that explosions have been heard for 2 hours following the crash.
Locals reported seeing a fireball and a plume of smoke earlier than the crash.
ERT reported that military and explosive specialists have been en path to the positioning, positioned on farmland shut to 2 villages which can be a part of the Paggaio municipality. However they don't seem to be anticipated to begin working earlier than daybreak. Specialists from Greece's Atomic Power Fee will be part of them.
The fireplace service has cordoned off the realm at a radius of about 400 meters. The cordoned-off space can be expanded at daybreak, hearth service officers stated.