Greece complains to Ukraine in wake of plane crash

Greece filed an official complaint with Ukraine on Monday after a cargo plane carrying mortar ammunition crashed while attempting an emergency landing in northern Greece on Saturday.

Themistoklis Demiris, secretary-general of Greece’s Foreign Ministry, made a complaint to Ukraine’s ambassador in Athens, Sergii Shutenko, to stress the need for Greek authorities to be notified in advance about the nature of the cargo.

Eight crew members on the An-12 cargo plane, operated by a Ukrainian company, were killed in the crash near Kavala in northern Greece. The crash was followed by at least two hours of explosions.

Serbian officials said the plane had been carrying 11.5 tons of Serbian-made mortar ammunition to Bangladesh, and had been due to make a stopover in Amman, Jordan.

Greece filed an official complaint with Serbia earlier on Monday. [Kathimerini, AP]