THESSALONIKI, Greece — An Antonov cargo airplane operated by a Ukraine-based airline crashed Saturday close to the town of Kavala in northern Greece, authorities mentioned.
Greek Civil Aviation authorities say the flight was heading from Serbia to Jordan, however haven’t been in a position to verify how many individuals had been on board or what the airplane’s cargo was. It was operated by Meridian, a cargo provider.
The pilot managed to alert authorities about an issue in one of many airplane’s engines and he was given the selection of touchdown in both the Thessaloniki or Kavala airports. He opted for Kavala, which was nearer, however the airplane crashed about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of the airport, Greece’s Civil Aviation authority mentioned.
“We had been listening to explosions till a couple of minutes in the past,” Filippos Anastassiadis, mayor of the municipality of Paggaio, advised the Related Press. “I’m about 300 meters from the location of the crash.”
Locals reported seeing a fireball and a plume of smoke. The explosions have sparked hypothesis amongst locals and a few Greek media the airplane was carrying explosives.
State broadcaster ERT reported that military explosive specialists had been en path to the location, positioned on farmland shut to 2 villages which might be a part of the Paggaio municipality.
The hearth service has cordoned off the world.
