A German transport plane that crashed into the Mediterranean sea during World War II was brought to the surface on Friday by Greek armed forces, military officials said.
A human skeleton was found in the plane that lay 40m deep about 500m off the Aegean island of Leros, Greek air force spokesperson Constantinos Prionas said.
The German embassy in Greece has been notified to arrange for the return of the remains, the spokesperson added.
Fifteen Greek air force staff worked for 10 days to recover the Ju 52-type German plane with the help of a crane based on a floating platform.
The plane, which is in ”good condition”, will be exhibited in a Greek museum.
The plane carried German parachutists and was brought down by allied forces in late 1943, Prionas said.
”The plane was shot down but managed to temporarily float a little before it sank. All the people on board were saved, apparently apart from the man whose skeleton was found,” he added. — Sapa-AFP