ATHENS – The clean-up operation at the crash site of an Antonov airplane that fell in a farming area in Antifilippi is progressing rapidly, authorities said on Thursday.

Eight teams of bomb disposal experts are working hard to ensure the rapid collection and clearance of the ammunition that was scattered in the farming area when the Antonov fell from the sky last Saturday.

Speaking to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, the mayor of Paggaion Filippos Anastassiadis said that the army’s bomb disposal experts were doing a very good job and doing it quickly. “For this reason, we will issue an announcement, maybe today, and always after consulting the battalion’s leadership, regarding which areas have been fully cleared, so these will become accessible to farming vehicles and the citizens,” he said, noting that the areas where the clean-up was underway were currently surrounded by barbed wire to prevent access.

All the ammunition found is being collected and sent to Xanthi to be checked and destroyed.

Meanwhile, Anastasiades was reassuring regarding the safety of produce from the area. “The measurements showed nothing to cause concern,” he said, adding that there was no sign of radioactivity or hazardous biological material that might pose a danger to people. Samples from the soil and water have been collected from the site of the crash and the results were expected soon, he added.