Athens, Aug 03: Two firefighting helicopters battling a wildfire in the forest west of the Greek capital Athens have collided in mid-air, killing two crew members. The accident occurred in the Psatha forest area near Porto Germano, about 60 kilometers west of Athens. The two Bell helicopters were flying at very low altitudes and were spraying water when they collided. One of the helicopters caught fire and crashed to the ground, while the other helicopter managed to make an emergency landing.
The Greek firefighter and the Danish pilot on the crashed plane died at the scene. The British pilot and Greek crew on the second helicopter escaped unhurt. Greece is experiencing gale-force winds of up to 100 km/h, and the heat is causing fires to spread rapidly in forested areas.
Hundreds of people from coastal villages have been evacuated by ships and boats as roads are covered in smoke. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who expressed deep concern over the incident, expressed concern that the situation has turned into a disaster beyond human preparedness and operational capacity.
Massive wildfires have spread not only in Greece but also in France and Spain, with millions of tourists and locals being evacuated to safer places. Wildfires are common in Greece during the summer, and airstrikes from Denmark, Britain, France and Romania are providing assistance to Greece under the European Union (EU) family emergency agreement. A reminder of the 2018 disaster: A devastating wildfire in the Mati region in 2018 killed 104 people. The current fire near Athens threatens to create a similar disaster.