DistantNews
Support us
🇹🇼 Taiwan /Disasters & Emergencies

Two Dead as Firefighting Helicopters Collide Over Greek Wildfire

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Two crew members died when two firefighting helicopters collided in mid-air while battling wildfires near Athens, Greece.
  • The crash occurred as Greece faces a challenging summer with 220 forest and agricultural fires reported since late July.
  • The incident has raised the death toll from wildfires this week to five, prompting a grounding of all Bell helicopters for further investigation.

Tragedy struck Greece's firefighting efforts as two helicopters collided in mid-air, resulting in the deaths of two crew members. The incident occurred near Psatha, west of Athens, while the aircraft were engaged in battling a wildfire that has been raging across the region.

According to fire department spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakogiannis, both pilots were pronounced dead after being rushed to the hospital. Television footage captured the harrowing moment one helicopter struck the underside of the other before exploding and crashing to the ground. The crew of the second helicopter managed to survive the catastrophic collision.

The two pilots... were confirmed dead after being rushed to the hospital, having lost consciousness.

— Vassilis VathrakogiannisConfirming the deaths of the helicopter crew.

This fatal accident compounds a difficult summer for Greece, which has been battling numerous wildfires. Since July 27, the country has recorded 220 fires affecting forests and agricultural land. The recent helicopter crash brings the total death toll from wildfires this week to five, with three firefighters having already lost their lives in separate incidents on Crete and the Peloponnese peninsula.

In response to the crash, aviation authorities have ordered all Bell helicopters operating in the affected area to be grounded pending a thorough investigation. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his condolences, acknowledging the extremely challenging period ahead for the nation as it confronts the escalating fire crisis.

We are perhaps going through the most difficult period of this summer.

— Vassilis VathrakogiannisDescribing the severity of the wildfire situation.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog