Ukrainian Cargo Plane Crashes And Catches Fire In Greek Territory, The Fate Of The Eight Crew Is Not Yet Known

Illustration--An Antonov-12 cargo plane that made an emergency landing in Ukraine, (photo; doc. between)

JAKARTA - A cargo plane with an eight-person crew crashed near the town of Kavala in northern Greece on the evening of Saturday 16 July. This is known from the announcement of the fire authority and state TV.

According to ERT, the state-owned TV station, the plane was an Antonov An-12 belonging to a Ukrainian company, which was flying from Serbia to Jordan. The pilot had requested an emergency landing due to an engine problem, but the plane then lost the signal.

Video footage posted on ertnews.gr showed the flaming plane nosediving rapidly before hitting the ground and then exploding.

Firefighters said they could not confirm the type of plane but said there were initial reports that eight people were on board.

In a statement, fire authorities have deployed 15 firefighters equipped with seven engines to extinguish the blaze that raged after the crash.

It's not clear what the plane's cargo contained, but a special disaster response unit is also investigating the scene.

"We are treating the cargo as containing hazardous materials," a firefighter said, as quoted by Reuters.