PALAIOCHORI, Greece (AP) — Experts investigated the crash of a cargo plane in northern Greece Sunday and found no evidence of harmful ingredients but said there was plenty of ammunition at the crash site. Serbia’s defense minister showed that all 8 team members died in the crash.
Serbia’s An-12 shipping plane flew through a Ukrainian crew before crashing into fields between two Greek villages on Saturday night. The plane crashed shortly before 11 p. m. about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Kavala International Airport.
Minutes earlier, the pilot had told air traffic controllers he had a problem with an engine and needed to make an emergency landing, authorities said. He made his way to Kavala airport but never made it.
The fuselage of the Soviet-era four-engine turboprop crawled on the ground for 170 meters (nearly 190 meters) before disintegrating. Residents reported seeing a fireball and hearing explosions for two hours after the crash. Drone footage showed that tiny fragments were all that. left of the plane.
Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic told a news conference sunday that all 8 members of the plane’s team were dead. He said the plane was carrying 11. 5 tons of Serbian-made mortar ammunition to Bangladesh, which the buyer had taken off from the Serbian. City of Nis and programmed to prevent in Amman, Jordan.
“These were lighting mortar mines and educational (mines) . . . This flight had all the authorizations in accordance with foreign regulations,” Stefanovic said.
The plane operated through the Ukrainian carrier Meridian. The Ukrainian consul in Thessaloniki, who arrived at the crash site, told local officials that the team was completely Ukrainian.
The Greek military’s joint nuclear, biological and chemical defense special unit cleared two avenues sunday for firefighters’ forensic experts to move in before leaving. By dusk, the team at this time had recovered all the bodies, the commander of the army’s demining battalion told reporters.
Explosives disposal experts were also at the site. Only once your paintings are finished will experts from the Civil Aviation Authority check the plane’s black boxes.
Firefighters and police have created a prolonged security perimeter due to the abundance of ammunition. Nearby dirt roads have been closed to vehicles. Firefighters who responded to the scene Saturday night were unable to reach the crash site due to smoke and an intense smell they feared toxic. .
Residents were allowed to leave their homes on Sunday after they were ordered to stay indoors and keep their windows closed On Saturday night. But officials told citizens that their fields would possibly not be in condition due to the likely presence of explosives.
——
Nellas reported from Athens, Greece and Gec from Belgrade, Serbia.
Sign up for the most productive stories from Financial Post, a department of Postmedia Network Inc.
A welcome email is on the way. If you don’t see it, check your spam folder.
The next Financial Post Top Stories factor will soon be in your inbox.
We found a challenge with your registration. Check back
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a civilized discussion forum and encourages all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments can take up to an hour to moderate before appearing on the site. We ask that you keep your comments applicable and respectful. I’ve enabled email notifications. You will now receive an email if you get a response to your comment, if there is an update to a comment thread you are following, or if a user follows your comments. See our network rules for more information and main points on how to adjust your email settings.
365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, ONTARIO M4W 3L4
© 2022 Financial Post, a department of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Its unauthorized dissemination, transmission or transmission is strictly prohibited.
This uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads) and allows us to analyze our traffic. Learn more about cookies here. By continuing to use our Array, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.