INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A Ukrainian cargo plane carrying munitions from Serbia to Bangladesh crashed near the city of Kavala in northern Greece late on Saturday,
killing the crew members on board, Serbian authorities and Meridian airline said on Sunday.Drone images from the scene showed smouldering
debris from the Antonov An-12 aircraft strewn in fields, Reuters reported. Greek authorities said there were eight crew members on board
and a Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman said they were all Ukrainian citizens.Ukrainian-based airline Meridian, which operated the
aircraft, said all the crew members were killed in the crash. Serbia&s defence minister said the plane was carrying 11.5 tonnes of
products, including mortar and training shells, made by its defence industry
The buyer of the cargo was the defence ministry of Bangladesh, he said.Denys Bogdanovych, Meridian&s general director, confirmed Serbia&s
&This is not related to Ukraine or Russia,& Bogdanovych told Reuters by telephone.Witnesses said the aircraft came down in a ball of flames
before exploding on impact in corn fields around midnight local time
Earlier the pilot had reported engine trouble and had requested an emergency landing.Greek authorities could not provide information on the
aircraft&s cargo or the crew
The special disaster response unit and army experts were dispatched to the scene, while local authorities issued a ban on people moving in
the area.Serbia&s defence minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said the cargo included illuminating mortar shells and training shells. It had taken
off at 18:40 GMT Saturday from Nis in Serbia, Reuters reported. The plane carried 11.5 tonnes of products made by our defence industry
The buyer was the Bangladesh defence ministry,& Stefanovic said.He said the plane&s cargo was owned by Serbian company Valir, a company
registered to perform foreign trade activities of armament military equipment and other defence products.Greek state TV ERT said the
aircraft&s signal was lost soon after the pilot requested an emergency landing from Greek aviation authorities due to an engine
problem.Amateur video footage uploaded on ertnews.gr showed the aircraft in flames descending fast before hitting the ground in what
appeared to be an explosion.I wonder how it didn''t fall on our houses,& one witness, Aimilia Tsaptanova, told reporters
&It was full of smoke, it had a noise I can''t describe and went over the mountain
It passed the mountain and turned and crashed into the fields.A senior source at Jordan&s civil aviation regulatory commission denied
initial reports that the plane was headed to Jordan
The source said that its flight itinerary included a stopover in Jordan&s Queen Alia international airport at 9:30 pm (0630 GMT), to refuel,
state news agency Petra reported on Sunday.It was also due to stop in Riyadh and Ahmedabad in India before heading to Dhaka, Serbia&s
defence minister said.The post Crew members killed in Ukraine cargo plane crash in northern Greece first appeared on Ariana News.
