PALAIOCHORI, Greece (AP) – Experts were investigating on Sunday the site of a plane crash in northern Greece to determine if there are dangerous chemicals or explosive charge.
When they finish their work later in the day, they will block the way for forensic experts to pick up the crew bodies, authorities said.
The An-12 cargo plane crashed into fields between two villages on Saturday afternoon. His fuselage dragged him to the ground about 170 meters before disintegrating, authorities said.
Local residents said they saw a fireball and heard explosions for two hours after the crash. A column of white smoke was still rising from the front of the plane Sunday morning.
Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said at a news conference on Sunday that all eight crew members were killed. He said the plane was carrying 11.5 tonnes of Serbian-made mortar ammunition to Bangladesh, which was the buyer. He had taken off from the Serbian city of Nis and had to make a stopover in Amman, Jordan.
The plane was operated by Ukrainian cargo carrier Meridian, and the Ukrainian consul in Thessaloniki, who has arrived at the crash site, told local officials that the crew was all Ukrainian.
“These were illuminating and training mortar mines (mines). … This flight had all the necessary permits in accordance with international regulations,” Stefanovic said.
The plane crashed shortly before 11 p.m., about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Kavala International Airport. Minutes earlier, the pilot of the plane had told air traffic controllers that there was a problem with one of his engines and that he had to make an emergency landing. He was directed to Kavala, but never got there.
The aircraft is a four-engine turboprop cargo carrier from the Soviet era.
Images of the drones show that the small fragments are all that is left of the plane. Firefighters who rushed to the scene overnight were unable to reach the crash site due to smoke and an intense odor that they feared could be toxic.
Nearby residents were told to keep the windows closed all night, not to leave their homes and to wear masks. Authorities said they did not know if there were dangerous chemicals on the plane, including the contents in the batteries.
Firefighters cordoned off the area within a radius of about 400 meters.
The mayor of the municipality of Paggaio, to which belong the two villages close to the accident, has banned the movement of vehicles on nearby roads.
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Nellas reported from Athens, Greece, and Gec of Belgrade, Serbia.