AMMAN: Jordan has denied claims it was the final destination of a Ukraine-owned Antonov-12 cargo plane that crashed near Kavala in northern Greece, reported state news agency Petra on Sunday.
In a statement, the Jordanian Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission (CARC) said the flight was scheduled to make a refueling stop at the Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan at approximately 9:30 p.m. before heading to Bangladesh.
Earlier reports said the An-12 cargo plane, which took off from the city of Nis, Serbia, on Saturday, was headed to Amman, Jordan. It crashed about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Kavala International Airport due to engine malfunction before making an emergency landing.
The pilot of the plane, which was operated by Ukrainian cargo carrier Meridian, 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 airport but never made it there.
Greek media reported there were eight people on the plane and that it was carrying 12 tons of “dangerous materials,” mostly explosives. But local officials said they had no specific information on the cargo and provided slightly varying numbers of people on board.
The plane is a Soviet-era four-engine turboprop cargo carrier.
Drone footage shows that small fragments are all that is left from the plane, which crashed in fields between two villages and dragged a small distance on the ground. Local residents reported seeing a fireball and hearing explosions for two hours after the crash. A plume of white smoke was still rising from the front end of the plane on Sunday morning.
Firefighters who rushed to the scene in the night were prevented from reaching the crash site by smoke and an intense smell which they feared might be toxic. Nearby residents were told to keep their windows shut all night, to not leave their homes and to wear masks. Authorities say they do not know if there were dangerous chemicals on the plane, including those contained in batteries.
The teams of explosives experts which will soon operate onsite will be joined by experts from Greece’s Atomic Energy Commission, authorities said.
The fire service has cordoned off the area at a radius of about 400 meters.
With AP
