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Cypriot plane crashes in Greece
See the crash site A Cypriot airliner carrying 121 people has crashed near Athens after an apparent drop in cabin pressure led to a dramatic fall in temperature.
A text message sent from the plane said that the pilots were unconscious and passengers were freezing to death.
Greek F-16 fighter jets had been scrambled to locate the Helios Airways plane, heading from Larnaca, Cyprus to the Czech capital, Prague.
Rescuers have reportedly found dead bodies but are yet to find survivors.
The Boeing 737 plane, carrying 115 passengers and six crew, came down at 1220 local time (0920 GMT).
Airline officials said the plane was due to make a stopover in Athens on a journey to Prague.
Larnaca airport authorities told Cyprus state TV a sudden drop in cabin pressure may have knocked out the pilots.
Greek TV reported that a passenger sent a text message to a cousin telling him that the pilot had turned blue in the face and the plane's temperature had plummeted.
"My cousin I bid you farewell, we are all frozen," the text message read.
There were suspicions that the plane had been hijacked, but these were swiftly ruled out by Greece's foreign ministry.
The head of air traffic control at Athens airport, Iannis Pantazaratos, told AFP that authorities lost contact with the plane, and air force pilots found it flying above the Euboea peninsula with the pilots doubled up in the cabin.
Rescue effort
Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis cut short a holiday on the island of Tinos to return to Athens.
Police and military helicopters were sent to the scene, along with dozens of ambulances.
TV pictures showed wreckage over a wide area, with firefighters dousing flames on the bare hillside.
The mayor of Grammatikos, one of the towns near the crash site, said only the tail was recognisable.
"The fuselage has been destroyed. It fell into a chasm and there are pieces. All the residents are here trying to help," George Papageorgiou said.
One eyewitness, Dimitris Karezas, told the Reuters news agency he saw the plane being followed by fighter jets.
"Two, three minutes later I heard a big bang and ever since I've started looking for it, but I have not found anything yet," he said.
Cypriot plane crashes in Greece
See the crash site A Cypriot airliner carrying 121 people has crashed near Athens after an apparent drop in cabin pressure led to a dramatic fall in temperature.
A text message sent from the plane said that the pilots were unconscious and passengers were freezing to death.
Greek F-16 fighter jets had been scrambled to locate the Helios Airways plane, heading from Larnaca, Cyprus to the Czech capital, Prague.
Rescuers have reportedly found dead bodies but are yet to find survivors.
The Boeing 737 plane, carrying 115 passengers and six crew, came down at 1220 local time (0920 GMT).
Airline officials said the plane was due to make a stopover in Athens on a journey to Prague.
Larnaca airport authorities told Cyprus state TV a sudden drop in cabin pressure may have knocked out the pilots.
Greek TV reported that a passenger sent a text message to a cousin telling him that the pilot had turned blue in the face and the plane's temperature had plummeted.
"My cousin I bid you farewell, we are all frozen," the text message read.
There were suspicions that the plane had been hijacked, but these were swiftly ruled out by Greece's foreign ministry.
The head of air traffic control at Athens airport, Iannis Pantazaratos, told AFP that authorities lost contact with the plane, and air force pilots found it flying above the Euboea peninsula with the pilots doubled up in the cabin.
Rescue effort
Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis cut short a holiday on the island of Tinos to return to Athens.
Police and military helicopters were sent to the scene, along with dozens of ambulances.
TV pictures showed wreckage over a wide area, with firefighters dousing flames on the bare hillside.
The mayor of Grammatikos, one of the towns near the crash site, said only the tail was recognisable.
"The fuselage has been destroyed. It fell into a chasm and there are pieces. All the residents are here trying to help," George Papageorgiou said.
One eyewitness, Dimitris Karezas, told the Reuters news agency he saw the plane being followed by fighter jets.
"Two, three minutes later I heard a big bang and ever since I've started looking for it, but I have not found anything yet," he said.