Ukrainian An-12 cargo aircraft crashes in Greece
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According to preliminary information, the crash was caused by an engine failure.
Fire and rescue teams are working at the scene.
Eyewitnesses said that the plane had crashed in a cornfield near the village of Palaiochori in the municipality of Pangaio.
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Eight crew members were on board. All are said to be lost.
According to available information, one of the plane’s four engines caught fire in the air and the pilot requested an emergency landing at Kavala International Airport.
However, contact with the An-12 aircraft was lost 16 km west of Kavala.
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The plane was on a commercial transport flight from Serbia to Jordan.
At the same time, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said on Facebook that a "dangerous cargo" had been on board the An-12 aircraft, owned by Ukrainian cargo operator Meridian, during a commercial flight with the route Serbia-Jordan-Bangladesh.
However, the diplomat did not specify what exactly the plane was carrying.
"The crew consisted of eight citizens of Ukraine," Nikolenko said.
"The failure of one of the engines is a preliminary cause of the accident. On behalf of the foreign minister, an operational headquarters has been set up at the Consulate of Ukraine in Thessaloniki. Ukrainian consuls have already arrived at the crash site, interacting with rescuers and law enforcement officers of Greece to clarify all the circumstances of the incident. Rescue work and firefighting are underway."
