According to officials, a cargo jet that crashed in northern Greece was transporting 11 tonnes of weaponry, including land mines, to Bangladesh.
The Antonov-12 crash site has issued a warning to anyone living within two kilometers of the area to stay inside.
When the plane crashed late on Saturday in the city of Kavala, it was traveling from Serbia to Jordan, killing all eight people on board.
A large fireball and the burning airliner were also visible on eyewitness videos of the disaster.
Drones were being utilized to survey the scene of the wreckage on Sunday morning out of an abundance of caution.
The soldiers, explosives specialists, and employees of the Greek Atomic Energy Commission will not approach the site until it was considered secure, according to state-run television.
According to Northern Greece Fire Brigade Lieutenant General Marios Apostolidis, the current (air) measurements have not revealed anything, but instability in the field has been noted.
So a special armed forces team must tell us what it is and whether we can approach the field. “In other words, heavy smoke and heat, as well as a white substance that we do not recognize.”
Shortly after takeoff, the pilot reportedly requested an emergency landing at the Kavala airport owing to an engine issue, but he was unable to make it to the runway.
Residents in the area first observed the plane at around 22:45 local time (19:45 GMT).
Aimilia Tsaptanova, who witnessed the plane’s descent, expressed amazement that their homes weren’t damaged.
She described it as being covered in smoke, making an unidentifiable noise, and flying over a mountain. It turned after passing the mountain and crashed into the fields.
We were alarmed by the flames. Many cars arrived, but they were unable to get close due of the constant blasts.
According to Serbia’s Neboja Stefanovic, the Antonov AN-12 was delivering over 11 tonnes of armaments built in Serbia to Bangladesh.
Prior to arriving in Dhaka, it was scheduled to stop in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and India.
Although there has been no sign of a connection to the situation in Ukraine, the jet was being flown by Meridian, a Ukrainian cargo carrier.
