News Desk :
A Ukrainian cargo plane reportedly bound for Bangladesh crashed near the city of Kavala in northern Greece late on Saturday.
The aircraft was carrying defence materials from Serbia, Reuters reports, citing Serbian authorities, reports bdnews24.com
Inter-Service Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) on Sunday said the aircraft, which crashed in Greece late on Saturday, was carrying training mortar shells procured from Serbia for the Bangladesh Army and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
However, the consignment was covered by insurance and there were no weapons in it, the ISPR added, reports bdnews24.com.
The flight was scheduled to land at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Sunday at midnight, according to the airport’s Executive Director Group Captain Kamrul Islam.
According to Reuters, drone images from the crash site in the northern Greek city of Kavala showed smouldering debris from the Antonov An-12 aircraft, owned by a Ukrainian company, strewn in fields.
Greek authorities said there were eight crew members on board and a Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman said they were all Ukrainian citizens.
Serbia’s defence minister said the plane was carrying 11.5 tonnes of products, including mortar and training shells, made by its defence industry. The buyer of the cargo was the defence ministry of Bangladesh, he said. But the Bangladesh government has yet to confirm reports about the plane’s cargo.
Asked about the matter on Sunday, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said, “This is the first time I’m hearing about it. We will look into it.”
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, meanwhile, said the government did not purchase any weapons for the police from Serbia.
“All I can say is that the weapons weren’t for the police. I don’t know if it’s for any other force.”
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Serbia sold $266 million worth of munitions to 14 countries between 2006 and 2021. Bangladesh and Myanmar were the biggest buyers during that time, racking up bills of $56 million.
Drone images from the crash site in northern Greece showed smouldering debris from the Antonov An-12 aircraft strewn in fields, Reuters reports. Greek authorities said there were eight crew members on board and a Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman said they were all Ukrainian citizens.
Ukrainian-based airline Meridian, which operated the aircraft, said all the crew members were killed in the crash.
Serbia’s defence minister said the plane was carrying 11.5 tonnes of products, including mortar and training shells, made by its defence industry. The buyer of the cargo was the defence ministry of Bangladesh, he said.
Denys Bogdanovych, Meridian’s general director, confirmed Serbia’s account of events. “This is not related to Ukraine or Russia,” Bogdanovych told Reuters by telephone.
Witnesses said the aircraft came down in a ball of flames before exploding on impact in corn fields around midnight local time. Earlier the pilot had reported engine trouble and had requested an emergency landing.
Greek authorities could not provide information on the aircraft’s cargo or the crew. The special disaster response unit and army experts were dispatched to the scene, while local authorities issued a ban on people moving in the area.
Serbia’s defence minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said the cargo included illuminating mortar shells and training shells. It had taken off at 1840 GMT Saturday from Nis in Serbia.
“The plane carried 11.5 tonnes of products made by our defence industry. The buyer was the Bangladesh defence ministry,” Stefanovic said.
He said the plane’s cargo was owned by Serbian company Valir, a company registered to perform foreign trade activities of armament military equipment and other defence products.
Greek state TV ERT said the aircraft’s signal was lost soon after the pilot requested an emergency landing from Greek aviation authorities due to an engine problem.
Amateur video footage uploaded on ERT’s website showed the aircraft in flames descending fast before hitting the ground in what appeared to be an explosion.
“I wonder how it didn’t fall on our houses,” one witness, Aimilia Tsaptanova, told reporters. “It was full of smoke, it had a noise I can’t describe and went over the mountain. It passed the mountain and turned and crashed into the fields.”
A senior source at Jordan’s civil aviation regulatory commission denied initial reports that the plane was headed to Jordan. The source said that its flight itinerary included a stopover in Jordan’s Queen Alia international airport at 9:30 pm (0630 GMT), to refuel, state news agency Petra reported on Sunday.
It was also due to stop in Riyadh and Ahmedabad in India before heading to Dhaka, Serbia’s defence minister said.
