A cargo aircraft crashed late on Saturday near Paleochori Kavala in northern Greece, the fire brigade said. Eyewitnesses said the aircraft was on fire and that they had heard explosions, Athens news agency reported. Local officials said 15 firefighters and seven fire engines had been deployed to the crash site but that they could not approach because of the explosions. According to media reports, the cargo aircraft was an Antonov An-12 owned by a Ukrainian company, which was flying from Serbia to Jordan. The pilot had requested an emergency landing due to an engine problem at nearby Kavala airport, but did not manage to reach there. State-run broadcaster ERT television reported that it was a Ukrainian Antonov aircraft, which according to villagers was already in flames before it crashed. ERT also reported that the plane was carrying eight people and that its cargo “was dangerous”. Police were asking journalists at the scene to wear masks, the report added.