By: Yeeyao Wong

Officials say that a cargo plane that crashed in a Greek field had about eleven metric tons of weapons on board.

People living within one-and-a-quarter miles of the area where the plane crashed have been warned to stay inside their homes.

The plane, Antonov-12, was flying to Jordan from Serbia when it came down on Saturday evening near a Greek city called Kavala. All eight people on the plane died in the crash.

Eyewitnesses who captured the video saw the plane as a huge, red fireball as it fell.

Drones were used to see the area, while the Greek state-run TV said that the army, weapon experts, and the Greek Atomic Energy Commission staff were not allowed to go near the area until it was proved safe.

“The air measurements at the moment have not shown anything but nonetheless instability in the field was observed,” General Marios Apostolidis told reporters. “In other words, intense smoke and heat, as well as a white substance that we do not recognize, so a special armed forces team has to inform us what it is and whether we can enter the field.”

The pilot had wanted to make an emergency landing at the nearest airport, which was Kavala airport because the plane had an engine problem shortly after it took off.

Unfortunately, the plane wasn’t able to make it to the airport’s runway.

The plane was spotted at about 10:45 PM by citizens. Aimilia Tsaptanova saw the plane crash and said she was surprised it didn’t crash into the city.

“It was full of smoke, it had a noise I can’t describe and it went over the mountain,” said Tsaptanova. “It passed the mountain and turned and crashed into the fields. There were flames, we were scared. A lot of cars came, but they couldn’t approach because there were continuous explosions.”

The plane was supposed to make different stops and take off again, but because of its crash, it did not do so. It was worked by a Ukrainian flight system, and with what is thought to be an entirely Ukrainian crew.

Source: https://www.bcc.com/news/world-europe-62195005