People living within two kilometers of the site where the Antonov-12 came down have been warned to stay indoors. The aircraft was flying from Serbia to Jordan when it crashed late on Saturday close to the city of Kavala, killing all eight people on board. Eyewitness video showed the plane on fire and a huge fireball as it crashed. Drones were used to survey the site of the wreckage out of caution, while Greek state-run TV reported the army, explosives experts and Greek Atomic Energy Commission staff was not approaching the site until it was deemed safe.
“The (air) measurements at the moment have not shown anything but nonetheless instability in the field was observed,” Lieutenant General Marios Apostolidis, of the Northern Greece Fire Brigade, told reporters. “In other words, intense smoke and heat, as well as a white substance that we do not the field recognize, so a special armed forces team has to inform us what it is and whether we can enter.”
The pilot had reportedly requested an emergency landing at Kavala airport in Greece, due to an engine problem shortly after takeoff, but was unable to reach the runway.
Credit: BBC.com
