Ukrainian-operated cargo plane crashes in Greece

(17 Jul 2022)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
++NIGHT SHOTS++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
outside Palaiochori, near Kavala - 17 July 2022
1. Various of emergency services, police and fire blocking the area about a kilometre away from the plane crash
2. Various shots from firefighters wear gas respirators due to the strong smell following the crash
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Eleftheroupoli, near Kavala - 17 July 2022
3. Various shots of Municipality of Paggaio town hall during the meeting of authorities of the area
4. SOUNDBITE (Greek) Filippos Anastasiadis, Mayor of Paggaio:  
"Around 10:45pm (1945GMT) last night, a burning plane flew past. And in a very short time, around 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) further down, in the plain between the settlements of Palaiochori and Antifilippi, it crashed to the ground and developed into a large fire with many continuous explosions."
5. Various shots from from the meeting at Paggaio town hall.
6. SOUNDBITE (Greek) , Mayor of Paggaio:  
"Following a meeting of the coordinating committee, and in liaison with the general secretary of the Civil Protection Agency, an emergency text alert will be sent, or has already been sent, to the residents of the two settlements of Antifilippi and Palaiochori, advising them to keep windows shut and air conditioning units off."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Outside Palaiochori, near Kavala - 17 July 2022
7. Various shots from the coordinating committee at the restricted area near the plane crash
8. SOUNDBITE (Greek) George Kissas, Palaiochori resident:  
"I got nearly close to the crash site, but fire brigade and police officials didn't let me get any closer as there were still many explosions taking place and it was dangerous. It's something unprecedented for this area."
9 . Various shots from civil protection get ready wearing gas respirators
10. Various shots from the army arrived at the blocked area
STORYLINE:
An Antonov cargo plane operated by a Ukrainian airline crashed Saturday near the city of Kavala in northern Greece, authorities said.
Local residents reported seeing a fireball and hearing explosions for two hours after the crash.
Greek Civil Aviation authorities said the flight was heading from Serbia to Jordan. The An-12, a Soviet-built turboprop aircraft, was operated by cargo carrier Meridian.
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 varying numbers of people on board.
As a precaution because of a strong smell emanating from the crash site, a coordinating committee made up of municipal, police and fire service officials told inhabitants of the two localities closest to the crash site 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.
Greece’s Civil Aviation authority said the pilot managed to alert authorities about a problem in one of the plane's engines and he was given the choice of landing in either the Thessaloniki or Kavala airports, and he opted for Kavala, which was closer, saying that he had to make an emergency landing.
Communication with the plane ceased almost immediately afterwards. The plane crashed about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of the airport.
“It crashed to the ground and developed into a large fire with many continuous explosions," Filippos Anastassiadis, mayor of the municipality of Paggaio said.
AP Video by Vassilis Kommatas
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