Ukrainian plane carrying Serbian munitions bound for Bangladesh crashes in Greece

ATHENS, Greece — A Ukrainian cargo plane carrying 11.5 tons of Serbian-made weapons destined for Bangladesh crashed in northern Greece late Saturday, killing eight Ukrainian crew members and setting off a sprawling investigation to determine if the hazardous material being transported posed a threat to the local population, state and local officials said.

The plane, an Antonov An-12BK, was owned by Ukrainian cargo carrier Meridian, but the incident did not appear to be connected to the ongoing war in Ukraine, according to Serbian and Ukrainian officials.

The cargo plane was on its way from Serbia to Jordan — the first of several planned stops, according to flight records — when its pilot contacted Greek authorities before midnight Saturday reporting engine problems and requested permission to make an emergency landing, according to an official with the Greek Civil Aviation Authority, who asked not to be identified. The plane crashed around 11 p.m. local time in a cornfield approximately 40 miles west of the city of Kavala, the official said.

A spokesman for Greece’s national fire service, Yiannis Artopios, said firefighters have recovered two bodies and are seeking six others.

Serbia’s defense minister, Nebojsa Stefanovic, said that the plane was carrying weapons produced by private Serbian arms manufacturer Valir, including illuminating mortar rounds and mines.

Vadim Sabluk, a Ukrainian official who visited the site of the crash Sunday, confirmed that the eight crew members on board were Ukrainian nationals, Greek state television reported.

Greek firefighters sent to the scene of the crash Saturday night were unable to access the area because of the thick plumes of smoke and an acrid stench that authorities feared could be toxic.

Greece’s Civil Protection Authority issued a statement Sunday urging residents of villages in the region to remain at home with their windows closed until further notice.

Drone footage captured Sunday and aired on Greek television showed what appeared to be artillery shells and debris strewn across a field of corn.

“The first step is to determine what was released into the air by that explosion,” said Konstantinos Syrlantzis, spokesman for Hellenic National Defense General Staff, known by its acronym, GEETHA.

Experts from GEETHA were working to identify a suspicious white powder that had settled in and around the site of the crash, Syrlantzis said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.