2 pilots killed in Greece military aircraft crash

ATHENS:

An F-4 Phantom military aircraft crashed Saturday at a base outside Athens during an airshow, killing the two pilots, Greek news agency ANA reported.

The circumstances of the crash were unclear, but the pilots did not eject from the aircraft, local media said.

The aircraft had just taken off when it suddenly lost altitude and crashed, said a journalist from public broadcaster ERT who was at the scene.

There was an explosion immediately after the crash, which happened before thousands of visitors watching the annual "Athens Flying Week".

Several firefighting aircraft were dispatched to the scene to extinguish the blaze caused by the crash, ERT reported.

The airshow was cancelled and Defence Minister Nikos Dendias called off a trip to Thessaloniki's International Fair to visit the scene of the accident.