 Cypriot plane crashes in Greece! | |
A Cypriot airliner with 121 people on board has crashed on a mountain northeast of Athens. Just before the crash, an airport official said the plane appeared to be flying without a pilot. Rescue officials have said there are no initial signs of survivors among the wreckage.
"The plane has crashed," Athens airport traffic control chief Iannis Pantazaratos said. "The airport lost all contact with the plane which should have landed in the late morning.
"Two air force planes sent up in reconaissance found it flying above the Evvoia peninsula, but they saw the pilots doubled up in the cabin." Greek police said there was no indication the plane had been hijacked.
"It's the worst accident we've ever had," airline safety officer Akrivos Tsolakis said. "There apparently was a lack of oxygen which is usually the case when the cabin is depressurized." The Boeing 737 was flying from Lanarca in Cyprus to Athens when it crashed onto a mountain on the Evvoia peninsula.
It reportedly came down at about 0920GMT near the coastal town of Kalamos, about 40 kilometres north of Athens. The Helios airlines plane was reported to be carrying 115 passengers and six crew. |