An Antonov An-12 cargo plane crashed on Saturday night near Paleochori Kavalas in northern Greece, the fire brigade said.
Eyewitnesses said the plane was on fire and that they had heard explosions, the Athens News Agency reported.
One local, Giorgos Archontopoulos, told state broadcaster ERT that he thought something was wrong as soon as he heard the plane’s engine.
“At 10:45 p.m. I was surprised by the sound of the aircraft’s engine,” he said. “I got out and saw the engine on fire.”
Local authorities said seven fire trucks had been deployed to the crash site but were unable to get close due to ongoing explosions.
According to media reports, the cargo plane was traveling from Serbia to Jordan and had requested permission to make an emergency landing at the nearby Kavala airport, but failed to arrive.
The state television channel ERT reported that the aircraft was operated by the Ukrainian cargo operator Meridan and, according to the villagers, was on fire before crashing.
There is no official information on the number of people on board the aircraft, which was still on fire, according to live images broadcast on state television.
But ERT said the plane was carrying eight people and its cargo “was dangerous.” Police were asking journalists at the scene to wear masks, the report added.
“They must move away for their safety. There is information that the plane was carrying ammunition,” a firefighter told reporters at the scene.
“The plane crashed about 2 kilometers from an inhabited area,” Filippos Anastasiadis, mayor of the nearby town of Paggaio, told Open TV.
This article is republished from – Voa News – Read the – original article.
