Cargo plane crash in Greece: 8 killed, plane carrying 11 tonnes of weapons bound for Bangladesh

Serbia’s Defense Minister Nebojsa said on Sunday that all eight crew members of the Antonov cargo plane that crashed Saturday night near the northern Greek city of Palechori Kavalas were killed in the crash.

The minister said the Antonov 12, owned by Meridian Ltd, a Ukrainian company, had about 11 tonnes of ordnance, including the Roshan mortar mines, which was bound for Bangladesh.

,As far as the identity of the crew is concerned, I think they are also Ukrainian but we have no idea about it, they are not SerbianStefanovic said during a press conference. The plane took off from Ni airport (southern Serbia) on Saturday at around 8:40 pm (6:40 am GMT). The exporter of these weapons is the Serbian company Private Validate.

The minister stressed that this was an agreed transaction with the Bangladesh Defense Ministry.”according to international rules,Unfortunately, some media have speculated that the flight was allegedly carrying weapons in Ukraine, which is completely false.“, did he declare.

“No other relationship exists between these goods and Ukraine”

Stefanovic said, since 2016, when every weapons order is listed in electronic form, Serbia has not issued any authorization for any arms exports to Ukraine or Russia. According to the minister, most of the cargo aircraft transporting weapons are of Soviet production and are in the possession of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

With Russia and Belarus under international sanctions due to the conflict in Ukraine, only Ukrainian transport aircraft are active and “committed around the world,

,Apart from the fact that they are the property of Ukrainian companies, no other link exists between these items and Ukraine.The minister said.

Antonov crashed near the town of Palechori Kavalas on Saturday evening. Athens News reported that eyewitnesses saw fire on the plane and heard explosions. According to press reports, the aircraft requested an emergency landing permit at the Greek airport in Kavala, but failed to complete the maneuver in time.