Greece plane crash: Cargo aircraft was carrying weapons to B'desh

All eight crew members of a cargo plane that crashed near the Greek city of Kavala died in the accident, Serbia’s defense minister said on Sunday. The Ukrainian-operated Antonov An-12 was carrying mines and around 11 tons of weapons to Bangladesh when it  crashed on Saturday night, minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said. The plane had taken off from Nis airport in Serbia at around 8:40 p.m. (1840 GMT) on Saturday, carrying weapons owned by private Serbian company Valir, he said.  Videos shared by eyewitnesses on social media showed the plane engulfed by a giant fireball as it hit the ground.

BREAKING: Ukrainian cargo plane crashes near Kavala in northeast Greece pic.twitter.com/0tRcBsSXSC

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Greek media said it had requested clearance to make an emergency landing at Kavala airport but had not managed to reach it.  People living within two kilometres of the site where the Antonov-12 came down have been warned to stay indoors. A 13-strong special team from the fire brigade, 26 firemen, and seven fire engines were deployed to the area but could not yet approach the crash site, local officials said.