Today marks a week since the plane crash, the fall of the Ukrainian plane Antonov in Greece. The Antifilippi local community in the municipality of Pangayos is still in shock and is trying to get back into its daily rhythm.
This is where the efforts of all involved bodies are now focused, as was noted at yesterday’s meeting of the coordinating body of the Kavalsky regional branch, convened by Deputy Governor Alexis Politis. Both he and the head of the civil protection department, Stavros Kivrakis, after a closed-door meeting, stressed in their statements that a collective effort is being made to ensure that the Antifilippi and Paleochori areas return to the “daily life” that existed before the plane crash, writes iefimerida.gr.
To achieve this, it is necessary to maintain the high pace of work of the demining battalion (DMT). A total of 56 pyrotechnicians, working for this purpose from early morning until late evening, have the main goal of completely clearing the Antonov crash area and collecting all ammunition.
So far, eight TENX teams have cleared most of the farmland, with about 120 acres remaining to remain cordoned off until the work is completed.
Those areas that have already been checked and cleared are gradually being returned to their owners so that agricultural work can continue as usual. For these areas, the ban has been lifted, so agricultural machinery and citizens can move freely.
The ΓΕΕΘΑ statement said that the total area of the study area is about 600 acres, and that the demarcation and construction of a fence around the impact zone of about 120 acres, where there is debris and projectiles, has been completed so far.
By Friday afternoon, it was expected that the surveys in the fenced area would be completed, and then the collection of only shells (without the collection of aircraft fragments) would begin. As emphasized in the relevant ΓΕΕΘΑ statement, “60- and 82-mm training mortars and 82-mm lighting mortars (φωτιστικοί όλμοι) have been found at the moment.”
For his part, Pangayo Mayor Philippos Anastasiades, in statements this week, reassured residents about the “danger of cargo carried by aircraft to the health of residents” of the area.
From the first moment, he emphasized that “all the measurements made did not show anything alarming. There is no radioactivity or other material (substance) dangerous to humans”, noting that “it is in constant contact with the relevant departments”, therefore, updates are received regularly, and soil and water samples have been taken from the crash site and their results are expected.
Meanwhile, the Greek Atomic Energy Commission, in a statement, denies rumors of increased levels of radioactivity in the area where the plane crashed, and also refers to the temporary closure of the measuring station in Kavala.
Recall, as we wrote earlier “Athenian News” about the crash of the Antonov plane in the Paleochori Kavala area, it was heading to Jordan and carrying 12 tons of “dangerous cargo”. It is noted that we are talking about a Ukrainian aircraft that performed a commercial (cargo) flightfrom Serbia to Jordan.
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