2 firefighting helicopter crew killed in mid-air collision as Greece battles wildfires

Greece’s firefighting efforts suffered a major setback on Sunday after two crew members aboard a firefighting helicopter were killed in a mid-air collision while tackling a wildfire near Athens.

Fire department communications director Vassilis Vathrakogiannis confirmed the deaths, saying, “The pilots… were taken unconscious to hospital, where their death was confirmed.”

Television footage showed one helicopter bursting into flames before crashing after what appeared to be a rotor collision with another aircraft.

Nearly 500 firefighters were deployed to battle the fast-moving wildfire near Porto Germeno, about 70 kilometres northwest of Athens, as crews worked to stop it from spreading toward the capital.

Around 100 additional firefighters were also responding to another wildfire in Aigialia in the northern Peloponnese.

Authorities said a fresh blaze erupted on the Ionian island of Cephalonia, where a 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of deliberately starting the fire.

Greece’s National Observatory estimated that more than 6,500 hectares of land had already been destroyed by separate wildfires in the Gulf of Corinth region, including Porto Germeno.

The observatory added that “meteorological conditions remained adverse mainly due to strong northerly winds, which, however, have partially weakened compared to previous days.”