Airshow tragedy: Military jet crashes

An F-4 Phantom military aircraft crashed Saturday at a military base near Athens during an airshow, with the fate of its two pilots initially unclear.

According to Vanguard, the aircraft lost altitude shortly after takeoff and crashed during the annual Athens Flying Week event.

A journalist with public broadcaster ERT, who witnessed the incident, said an explosion occurred immediately after the crash as thousands of spectators watched. A fire service helicopter was deployed to extinguish the resulting blaze. Defence Minister Nikos Dendias cancelled a scheduled trip to Thessaloniki to visit the crash scene.