Kyiv confirms Ukrainian cargo plane crash in Greece

KYIV -- Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko on Sunday confirmed reports that a Ukrainian cargo plane crashed overnight in northern Greece, killing all eight crew members on board.

The crew members on board the Antonov An-12 plane were Ukrainian nationals, Nikolenko said on Facebook, adding that the aircraft was a commercial flight on route Serbia-Jordan-Bangladesh and was carrying dangerous cargo.

The crash occurred near the Greek city of Kavala, Serbia's Defence Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said at a news conference on Sunday.

According to Stefanovic, the Ukrainian-operated cargo plane was carrying around 11 tons of weapons, particularly landmines, to Bangladesh when it crashed on Saturday night.

Ukrainian spokesman Nikolenko said a preliminary investigation found a failure in one of the plane's engines, which likely caused the crash.

Kyiv has set up an operational headquarters at the Consulate of Ukraine in the second largest Greek city of Thessaloniki after the accident, the spokesman said, adding that representatives of the Ukrainian consulate have already arrived at the crash site.