The Greek Foreign Ministry on Sunday expressed its deep sorrow to the families of the 8 Ukrainian crew members of the Antonov cargo airplane that crashed near Kavala, northern Greece, late on Saturday night.
In a post on Twitter, the Greek Foreign Ministry said:
“Profoundly saddened by the news of the cargo plane crash in Northern Greece, near Kavala. We express our sincere condolences to the families of the 8 Ukrainian crew members who tragically lost their lives in the plane crash.”
Profoundly saddened by the news of the cargo plane crash in Northern #Greece, near #Kavala
We express our sincere condolences to the families of the 8 Ukrainian crew members who tragically lost their lives in the plane crash pic.twitter.com/oJRu35qKZL
— Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών (@GreeceMFA) July 17, 2022
The plane was overflying Greece while heading from Nis in Serbia to Amman in Jordan with final destination Bangladesh.
It was over the Mt Athnos when it sent MAYDAY and asked permission for emergency landing in the nearest airport.
With one engine on fire, the Antonov crashed in a cornfield near the city of Kavala.
Firefighters and rescuers who rushed to the spot, could not come close to crash site due to continuous explosions that lasted two hours.
The plane’s cargo was 12 tons of ammunition, declared as “dangerous material.”
The crash took place very quickly and the Antonov was shattered in a radius of some 500 meters. Only a part of its fuselage would be located as a whole.
See more details in KTG posts:
Antonov cargo plane with 8 crew members onboard crash in Kavala, northern Greece (videos)
Antonov crash: Greece’s authorities on high alert over toxic cargo & UPDATES.
