According to Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic, the Antonov cargo jet, that crashed late on July 16, 2022 in northern Greece, was transporting 11.5 tons of Serbian armaments to Bangladesh.
ERT stated that all eight (8) crew members on the Antonov An-12 operated by a Ukrainian airline perished in the crash near the city of Kavala.
Stefanovic verified that the plane’s owner is a Ukrainian corporation and that Valir, a private Serbian arms producer, is sending the weaponry. The jet was carrying illuminating mortar shells and mines, he added, adding that the arms shipment had been arranged upon with the Bangladeshi Defense Ministry “in compliance with international regulations.”
“Unfortunately, certain media outlets have falsely reported that the jet was carrying weapons bound for Ukraine,” he stated.
He also stated that the entire crew perished in the disaster.
“I believe the crew to have been Ukrainian, but I have no confirmation of this. They did not speak Serbian,” Stefanovic told the media.
Denys Bohdanovytch, the general manager of Meridian, the Ukrainian freight airline that operated the plane, informed the German radio station Deutsche Welle that the entire crew was Ukrainian. He provided no details regarding the shipment.
Vadim Sabluk, the Ukrainian consul in Thessaloniki, visited the area on July 17, 2022.
Athens News Agency reported that he had provided the identification of the eight crew members to authorities and that the plane was en route to Bangladesh.
Previously, the mayor of the impacted hamlet of Pangeo, Filippos Anastasiadis, stated that the jet was carrying “hazardous stuff,” most likely weapons.
According to state media, 12 tons of “hazardous material” on board were emitting harmful vapors.
According to news reports, the cargo plane was en route from Serbia to Jordan on July 16, 2022, when it requested permission to make an emergency landing at the neighboring Kavala airport but was unable to reach it.
Two hours after the incident, local people reported seeing a fireball and hearing explosions.
The An-12, a turboprop aircraft manufactured in the Soviet Union, was used by cargo airline Meridian, according to state broadcaster ERT.
According to state-run television, the army, explosives experts, and officials from the Greek Atomic Energy Commission will approach the area once it is declared safe, as fears of the unknown cargo’s toxicity compelled them to keep away.
Two hours after the incident, local people reported seeing a fireball and hearing explosions.
The An-12, a turboprop aircraft manufactured in the Soviet Union, was used by cargo airline Meridian, according to state broadcaster ERT.
According to state-run television, the army, explosives experts, and officials from the Greek Atomic Energy Commission will approach the area once it is declared safe, as fears of the unknown cargo’s toxicity compelled them to keep away.
As a precaution due to a strong odor emerging from the collision scene, police instructed residents of the two adjacent communities to keep their windows closed all night, not leave their homes, and wear masks.
Army and explosives experts were their route to the site, according to ERT.
It was reported that the debris was dispersed over a radius of hundreds of meters, and the area was sealed off.
Initially, a huge contingent of firefighters, ambulances, and police responded to the scene before withdrawing and ordering journalists and onlookers to evacuate immediately.
A firefighter told ERT that they were awaiting the arrival of special forces and that two colleagues with respiratory difficulties had been hospitalized.
