According to Greek public television ERT, the aircraft was carrying “dangerous cargo”. The smoke and intense heat, as well as a white substance found near the crash site, raised concerns about possible toxicity, said Marios Apostolidis, the lieutenant general of the Greek fire brigade. The Antonov 12, operated by Ukrainian cargo airline Meridian, crashed shortly before 11:00 p.m. local time (4 p.m. ET) on Saturday, ERT reported. It was traveling from Serbia to Bangladesh via Jordan when it crashed, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said on Facebook on Sunday. The cause of the accident is said to be engine failure. All eight crew members were Ukrainian citizens, Nikolenko added. He said an operational headquarters was set up by the Ukrainian consulate in Thessaloniki, where Ukrainian consular officials were working at the crash site with local rescue and law enforcement teams. The Hellenic Fire Service announced that 15 firefighters and seven vehicles were at the scene of the crash. A drone will be used to survey the area where the plane crashed to assess its safety, Apostolidis added. Experts are also working to determine what the white matter is and what the toxicity of the scene is before proceeding with recovery operations. Authorities have yet to recover the plane’s flight recorder. Talia Kayali reports from Atlanta. Chris Liakos reports from London. Teele Rebane reported from Estonia.
