BREAKING: Military Plane Crash Halts Air Show Preparations in Bulgaria (UPDATED)

Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov has called off the planned air show at the Third Air Base following an accident involving a military transport plane, the L-39 Albatros, the Ministry of Defense reported.

The incident occurred during preparations for tomorrow's demonstrations, set to mark the 20th anniversary of Bulgaria's accession to NATO.

Update: two of the pilots have died in the crash.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash, with measures taken to contain the resulting fires and assess the situation.

The L-39 training aircraft crashed at the "Graf Ignatievo" airbase while performing a complex maneuver at an extremely low altitude. During the accident, the catapult did not activate, respectively the parachutes did not open, according to BNT. The machine was piloted by two pilots.

Measures have been taken to localize the fires and establish the causes of the incident.

"All measures have been taken to localize the fires and establish the causes of the tragic accident," said Evelina Branimirova, the Defense Minister's media adviser, on the incident. She could not specify the time or place of the incident. "It is not clear if there are still victims and injured and how many. At this stage, we cannot provide information," Branimirova added.

Defense Minister Zapryanov traveled to the place. A "Cougar" helicopter has taken off and is surveying the scene. Military police are working on the case. The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer aircraft designed and manufactured by Aero Vodochody in the Czech Republic. Between 1986 and 1990, Bulgaria acquired a total of 36 Albatros planes from Czechoslovakia. Over time, the number of the...