The accident is tragic, but the people in the affected region are also grateful – if the Antonov, loaded with tons of ammunition, had fallen on an inhabited area, it would have been a disaster.
Kavala – The eight-man crew of a cargo plane carrying 11.5 tons of ammunition crashed in Greece. The Antonov An-12 took off from the Serbian city of Nis on Saturday and was en route to Bangladesh.
Over the North Aegean, the pilot reported problems with an engine in the evening and requested an emergency landing at Kavala Airport. Until then, however, the machine did not make it – it crashed about 30 kilometers away in a field.
No toxic substances found so far
In the course of Sunday, seven of the eight dead were recovered. Ordnance specialists did not find any toxic substances at the scene of the accident, as the Greek news agency ANA reported. According to the newspaper “To Proto Thema”, the black box of the plane was also discovered.
Drone recordings showed a picture of the devastation – a huge swath ran across the fields, from the machine itself only rubble was left. When rescue workers arrived shortly after the crash, they noticed acrid fumes in addition to the smoke from the burning remains. In addition, there were constant explosions around the accident site. The fire brigade then withdrew and cordoned off the area. Residents were asked not to leave their homes and to keep the windows closed.
Special unit examines debris
A 14-man special unit of the Greek army, comparable to the German army’s NBC defense force, began examining the rubble on Sunday. The experts can track down nuclear, biological and chemical warfare agents and other hazardous substances. Firefighters and local residents had previously complained of respiratory problems.
![Plane crash in Greece](https://www.merkur.de/bilder/2022/07/16/91671565/29388392-flugzeugabsturz-in-griechenland-NOBG.jpg)
Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic gave the all-clear at a press conference in Belgrade on Sunday morning. The machine had 11.5 tons of ammunition for mortar shells on board. Such ammunition is produced in Serbia. The aircraft had all the necessary permits for transport. The minister denied claims in the media that the Antonov was supposed to transport weapons from Serbia to Ukraine. The plane belongs only to a Ukrainian airline. However, the buyer of the ammunition is the Bangladesh Ministry of Defence.
Call to avoid the crash site
Residents and farmers in the two villages of Paleochori and Antifilippi in the immediate vicinity of the crash site were asked during the day not to go to the fields for the time being. It was unclear how far debris and ammunition were distributed. The mayor of the municipality of Pangeo, Filippos Anastasiadis, announced that they are ready to evacuate the villages should it be necessary.
![Plane crash in Greece](https://www.merkur.de/bilder/2022/07/16/91671565/29388779-flugzeugabsturz-in-griechenland-OLBG.jpg)
There were numerous eyewitnesses to the accident, as well as cell phone videos, because the burning machine was already visible from afar in the night sky before the crash. Local residents were shocked by journalists, but also relieved. “Just imagine if the machine full of ammunition had fallen on a populated area,” a man told the state broadcaster ERT. dpa
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