site.btaInterior Minister Says Pilots Most Likely Casualties of Military Aircraft Crash

There are casualties, most likely the pilots, said caretaker Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov at a briefing here on Friday, commenting the military aircraft crash reported earlier near the Graf Ignatievo Air Base.  

Ilkov said he personally has no information about people having died in the crash. Firefighters have already extinguished the fire at the crash site, Ilkov added. He said he does not have any information at the moment about any civilian casualties.

The Interior Minister announced that he would travel from the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint to the scene of the accident.

The Defence Ministry said earlier that a military L-39 ZA aircraft has crashed near the Graf Ignatievo Air Base.  The accident occurred during the preparation of the demonstrations planned for Saturday. An investigation is currently underway.