The plane, an Antonov 12 of the company Meridian LTD, collided late Saturday in the Greek city of Kavala, shortly after departing from Serbia for Bangladesh.
Serbia’s defense ministry on Sunday reported the deaths of eight crew members on board the plane that crashed late Saturday in northern Greece. The plane, an Antonov 12 of the Ukrainian company Meridian LTD, had taken off from Nis airport, in the south of the Balkan country, at 8:40 p.m. local time and was bound for Bangladesh with 11 tons of weapons, including mortar mines.
According to Greek media, the plane had requested permission to make an emergency landing at the airport of Kavala, a coastal town in northern Greece, but ended up on the ground in the Antifilippi area for reasons under investigation. A neighbor, Giorgos Archontopoulos, told ERT public television that he knew something was wrong when he heard the sound of the plane. “At 10:45 pm (local time) I was surprised by the noise. I went out and saw the engine on fire,” he explains.
“Unfortunately, according to the information we received, all eight crew members died in the accident,” Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said at a news conference on Sunday. “Some media outlets said that the plane would be carrying weapons to Ukraine, which is completely incorrect,” he assured, clarifying that it was a transaction agreed with the government of Bangladesh “subject to international rules” and that the war materials the aircraft was owned by the Serbian company Valir.
Denys Bohdanovytch, general manager of Meridian, has, for his part, confirmed to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle that all the occupants of the device were Ukrainians, whose consul in Greece, Vadim Sabluk, went to the scene of the accident this Sunday to witness. of rescue operations. Due to the danger of the cargo, Greek rescue services are using a drone to fly over the remains. Meanwhile, firefighters have indicated that they have reached the point of impact with special equipment and measuring instruments to “examine the hull and other scattered parts closely”.
Due to the toxic gases, two firefighters had to go to hospital early on Sunday with breathing difficulties. Similarly, Greek authorities have asked people living within two kilometers of the accident site to remain in their homes with windows closed, air conditioning turned off and wearing masks.
Source: La Verdad
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