Greece protestes Serbia, Ukraine over plane crash with military equipment

The Antonov An-12 aircraft carrying 11.5 tonnes of defence equipment produced in Serbia, including mortars and training missiles, fell and went on fire, erupting in the cornfields. The eight Ukrainian crew members lost their lives.

Earlier, the pilot had announced engine problems and was granted emergency landing in Cavala, but the plane signal was lost soon after the call.

The Greek Foreign Ministry has filed a complaint to Ukraine's ambassador to Athens, saying Greece should have been announced in advance by Ukraine over the nature of the cargo aircraft, a Greek diplomatic source said.

Greek diplomatic sources said earlier Monday that Greece would also protest Serbia for the same reason.

Serbia's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to the demand for comment.

Serbia's Defence Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said Sunday morning that military equipment on the plane was produced by Serbia's defence industry and that the cargo buyer was Bangladesh.

Greek authorities blocked the area Saturday and later prevented residents from approaching and advised them to keep doors and windows closed, while firefighters and special disaster response unit were investigating the area. / VOA