An F-4 Phantom military aircraft crashed on Saturday at a military base outside Athens during an airshow, Greek news agency ANA reported.
The circumstances surrounding the crash were not immediately clear, and the fate of the two pilots on board was initially unknown, according to local media reports.
A journalist with Greece’s public broadcaster ERT, who was at the scene, said the aircraft had just taken off when it suddenly lost altitude and crashed.
The crash occurred in front of thousands of spectators attending the annual “Athens Flying Week”. An explosion was reported immediately after the aircraft went down, followed by a fire.
A fire service helicopter was deployed to the scene to help extinguish the blaze caused by the crash, ERT reported.
Defence Minister Nikos Dendias cancelled a planned visit to Thessaloniki’s International Fair and travelled to the crash site following the incident.
Authorities were expected to investigate the cause of the crash.
