Greek plane crash: Plane carrying military equipment was shot down near Kavala

Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said the plane was transporting equipment including flares and training mortars to Bangladesh when it crashed near Elvthiropoli in the northeastern Kavala region. He added that all eight crew members were killed.

According to Greek public radio, the plane was carrying a “dangerous cargo”. Marius Apostolidis, a major general in the Greek fire brigade, said the intense smoke and heat, as well as a white substance found near the crash site, had raised concerns about potential toxicity.

The Antonov 12, operated by Ukrainian cargo airline Meridian, crashed shortly before 11 p.m. local time (4 p.m. EDT) on Saturday, ERT reported.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said on Facebook on Sunday that the plane was on its way from Serbia to Bangladesh via Jordan when it crashed. It is believed that the cause of the accident was an engine failure.

Nikolenko added that all eight crew members are Ukrainian citizens. He said the Ukrainian consulate set up an operations headquarters in Thessaloniki, where Ukrainian consulate officers were working at the crash site with local rescue and law enforcement teams.

The Greek fire service said 15 firefighters and seven equipment were at the crash site. Apostolidis added that a drone will be used to survey the area where the plane crashed to assess its safety.

Experts are also working to determine what white matter is and what landscape toxicity is before initiating recovery processes. The authorities have not yet recovered the flight recorder.

Talia Kayali reported from Atlanta. Chris Lyakos reported from London. Tili Rypani reported from Estonia.