Ukraine cargo plane crashes near Greek city

An Antonov cargo plane run by the Ukraine-based airline Meridian, heading from Serbia to Jordan crashed near the city of Kavala’s airport, according to Greek Civil Aviation authorities. The flight was on its way to Jordan from Serbia.

The pilot managed to let Greek Civil Aviation authorities know there was an issue with an engine. Subsequently, they were given the choice between landing at either the Thessaloniki or Kavala airports. While he chose the Kavala airport, the flight crashed roughly 40 kilometers from the airport. 

Currently, the Greek authorities have not been able to determine what cargo the plane was carrying or how many people were on board. 

Also Read: Emmanuel Macron asks France to brace for ‘total cutoff of Russian gas’

Mayor of the municipality of Paggaio, Filippos Anasassiadis said that they had been hearing explosions for a while. “I am about 300 meters from the site of the crash.”

Locals spotted a fireball and a subsequent plume of smoke after the crash, sparking rumours amongst their community and local media that the plane was carrying explosives. 

State broadcaster ERT reported that army explosive experts were en route to the site, located on farmland close to two villages that are part of the Paggaio municipality. The fire service have cordoned off the area

The Russia-Ukraine was has reached its fifth month, with the breadbasket of Europe slowly ceding ground as the Putin-led state has been pumelling defensive positions with artillery fire. In the beginning of July, Volodymyr Zelenskyy had spoken to CNN saying that the country would not cede any ground to Russia to end the war. 

Also Read: 3 killed, 15 injured in Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s Dnipro: Report

Russia had invaded Ukraine on May 24 calling it a “special military operation” justifying it by saying that they were there to eliminate Neo-Nazis.