“Greece’s ambassador in Belgrade has been instructed to deliver immediately a complaint to Serbia stressing the need for the Greek authorities to be notified in advance about the nature of the cargo”, the official said.

Athens says Belgrade failed to inform the Greek civil aviation authority about the dangerous nature of the cargo before the aircraft took off. There was also confusion initially after the crash regarding both the plane’s cargo and its final destination.

The Antonov An-12 aircraft, which crashed near the city of Kavala on Saturday evening killing all eight crew members onboard, was carrying 11.5 tonnes of Serbian-made mortar ammunition to Bangladesh, which was the buyer.

It took off from the Serbian city of Nis on Saturday and had been due to make a stopover in Amman, Jordan.

The plane was operated by the Ukrainian cargo carrier Meridian. The Ukrainian foreign ministry said the eight flight crew were Ukrainian citizens.

Witnesses said they saw the privately-operated Antonov on fire and heard explosions. Videos shared on social media showed the plane engulfed by a giant fireball as it hit the ground late Saturday.

Debris scattered across a wide area, and the crash site – surrounded by fields – was visible from the air, an AFP photographer said.

Explosives disposal experts were working for a second day on Monday to clear widespread ordnance at the site, so the area could be decontaminated and made accessible.

Locals were forbidden from entering nearby fields until authorities could remove the wreckage and unexploded munitions.