A one-day strike by Greek civil servants grounded about 600 domestic and international flights today, stranding thousands of passengers around the country.

Two seconds before impact, the last man conscious in the cockpit of a doomed Cypriot airliner made a desperate call for help – “Mayday, Mayday” – before the plane carrying 121 people smashed into a mountain near Athens.

Two black-box recorders from the Cypriot airliner that crashed outside Athens will be sent to France for expert examination, officials said today, to determine why the plane went down – possibly with all 121 on board already dead.

Greece’s worst plane crash, in which 121 people died yesterday, appeared to have been caused by a sudden drop in oxygen.

A CYPRIOT airliner carrying 121 people into a hill near the ancient city of Marathon yesterday, killing all passengers and the six crew members on board.

ACCIDENT investigators will be scouring the wreckage of the doomed Helios Airways flight that crashed near Athens for clues as to what might have caused the disaster.

A Cypriot airliner ploughed into a hill north of Athens today, killing all 121 people on board, Greek officials said.

A jet with 115 passengers and six crew members on board crashed today north of Athens, the country’s defence ministry said, and it was not clear if the pilots were conscious or at the controls when it went down.

Two British men were arrested at Athens International Airport after allegedly using fake credit cards to withdraw money from an ATM, Greek police said tonight.

A Greek airliner was forced to return to Athens International airport today just minutes after takeoff following a bomb threat, authorities said.

A 30-year-old Greek man forced his eyes out their sockets to protest against his arrest at Athens international airport, police said today.