Bangladesh Cargo plane carrying defence products for Bangladesh crashes in Greece

[Isa Khan]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1548419653348626436

A Ukrainian cargo plane carrying munitions from Serbia to Bangladesh crashed near the city of Kavala in northern Greece late on Saturday, Serbian authorities said on Sunday.

Drone images from the scene showed debris from the bulking Antonov An-12 aircraft strewn in fields. Greek authorities said there were eight crew members on board and a Ukrainian foreign mnistry spokesman said they were all Ukrainian citizens.

Serbia's defence minister said the plane was carrying 11.5 tonnes of products made by its defense industry and the buyer was Bangladesh defense ministry. He said the crew members were killed.

Greek authorities could not provide information on the aircraft's cargo but the special disaster response unit and army experts were been dispatched to investigate the scene.

Serbia's defence minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said the cargo included illuminating mortar shells and training shells. It had taken off at 1840 GMT from Nis.

"The plane carried 11.5 tonnes of products made by our defense industry. The buyer was the Bangladesh defense ministry," Stefanovic said.

He added that the plane's cargo was owned by Serbian company Valir, a trade company registered to perform foreign trade activities of armament military equipment and other defence products.

State TV ERT said that the signal of the aircraft 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.

A senior source at Jordan's civil aviation regulatory commission (CARC) 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.

The wider area in Greece where the aircraft crashed has been cordoned off since Saturday night. Residents nearby have been advised to keep windows and doors shut and avoid the area of the incident.

On Sunday morning, a brigade official told reporters that firefighters "felt their lips burning" and white dust was floating in the air.

"We don't know what has been affecting us," fire brigade coordinator Marios Apostolidis said.

Cargo plane carrying defence products for Bangladesh crashes in Greece

A Ukrainian cargo plane carrying munitions from Serbia to Bangladesh crashed near the city of Kavala in northern Greece late on Saturday, Serbian authorities said on Sunday.

www.thedailystar.net

 

[Isa Khan]

 

[Isa Khan]

The Inter-Services Public Relations on Sunday said that the Ukrainian-operated cargo plane that crashed on Saturday night near the Greek city of Kavala had been carrying training mortar shells for the Bangladesh Army and the Border Guard Bangladesh.

The ISPR, in a text message, said that the crashed aircraft was carrying training mortar shells procured from Serbia through a contracting firm.

The contracting firm received a work-order under the procurement deal by Bangladeshi Directorate General Defense Purchase for the Bangladesh Army and the BGB.

There was no ‘weapon’ in the shipment and the shipment was covered by insurance, the ISPR said.

The Agence France-Presse from Kavala in Greece reported that the Ukrainian-operated Antonov An-12 was carrying around 11 tonnes of weapons, including ‘mines’, to Bangladesh when it crashed on Saturday night.

All eight crew members of the cargo plane died in the accident.

Bangladesh-bound cargo plane crashes in Greece

A Ukrainian-operated cargo plane en route from Serbia to Bangladesh carrying military goods crashed in Greece on Sunday, killing all eight crews, international wire service Agence France-Presse reported quoting Serbian defence minister...

www.newagebd.net

 

[Isa Khan]

Experts investigated a cargo plane crash in northern Greece on Sunday, finding no evidence of dangerous substances but saying there's a lot of ordnance that the plane was carrying spread around the crash site. Serbia's defense minister confirmed that all eight crew members died in the crash. The An-12 cargo plane from Serbia was being flown by a Ukrainian aviation crew before it smashed into fields between two Greek villages late Saturday.

The plane crashed shortly before 11 p.m. about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Kavala International Airport. Minutes before, the pilot had told air traffic controllers he had a problem with one engine and he had to make an emergency landing, officials said. He was directed to Kavala Airport but never made it there. The fuselage of the Soviet-era four-engine turboprop dragged on the ground for 170 meters (nearly 190 yards) before it disintegrated.

Locals reported seeing a fireball and hearing explosions for two hours after the crash. Drone footage showed that small fragments were all that is left of the plane. Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic told a news conference Sunday that the plane's eight crew members were dead. He said the plane was carrying 11.5 tons of Serbian-made mortar ammunition to Bangladesh, which was the buyer. It had taken off from the Serbian city of Nis and had been due to make a stopover in Amman, Jordan.

“These were illuminating mortar mines and training (mines). ... This flight had all necessary permissions in accordance with international regulations,” Stefanovic said. The plane was operated by Ukrainian cargo carrier Meridian. The Ukrainian consul in Thessaloniki, who arrived at the crash site, told local officials that the crew were all Ukrainian. The Greek army’s Special Joint Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Unit cleared two paths Sunday for Fire Service forensics experts to move in before leaving. By sunset, that second team had retrieved all the bodies, the commander of the army's Landmine Field Clearing Battalion told reporters.

Explosives disposal experts were also working at the site. It is only when their work is done that Civil Aviation Authority experts will try to retrieve the plane's black boxes. The fire service and police created an extended security perimeter because of the widespread ordnance. Nearby dirt roads were closed to vehicles. Firefighters who rushed to the scene Saturday night were prevented from reaching the crash site by smoke and an intense smell that they feared might be toxic. Residents were allowed to leave their homes Sunday after being told to stay inside and keep their windows closed Saturday night. But officials told locals their fields may not be safe to work in because of the likely presence of explosives.

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