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Two pilots killed in helicopter collision while fighting Greek wildfires
🇵🇦 Panama /Disasters & Emergencies

Two pilots killed in helicopter collision while fighting Greek wildfires

From TVN Panamá · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • Two pilots died when their firefighting helicopters collided in Greece while battling blazes amid challenging weather conditions.
  • The accident occurred near Psatha, west of Athens, involving two Bell helicopters.
  • The collision, which claimed the lives of a Danish and a Greek pilot, brings the total death toll from Greece's wildfires to five.

Two pilots were killed Sunday when their firefighting helicopters collided in Greece, where firefighters are battling flames on multiple fronts complicated by severe weather. The two Bell helicopters crashed in the Psatha area, west of Athens, the fire department announced.

The pilots were transferred unconscious to the hospital, where their deaths were confirmed.

— Vassilis VathrakogiannisThe fire department spokesperson confirmed the fatalities after the collision.

"The pilots were transferred unconscious to the hospital, where their deaths were confirmed," fire department spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakogiannis stated on television. The crew of the second helicopter survived unharmed. All Bell helicopters in the area have been grounded pending an investigation, according to state television ERT. The deceased pilots were identified as a Danish national and a Greek citizen, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis confirmed in a statement.

The accident raises the death toll from Greece's wildfires to five this week, following the deaths of three firefighters in Crete and the Peloponnese. Television footage showed one helicopter striking the underside of the other before exploding and plummeting to the ground. Mitsotakis had previously warned that the coming days would be "extremely difficult" due to high winds, which have reached 100 km/h, hindering aerial operations.

When the winds blow with such force, even the dozens of aircraft we have cannot operate safely.

— Kyriakos MitsotakisThe Prime Minister explained the challenges posed by high winds to firefighting efforts.

Over 16,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land have been scorched by flames in the climate-crisis-stricken country in just one week. While Greece typically faces summer fires due to heatwaves and drought, it had largely been spared major blazes until now. The current situation has placed the country on high alert during its peak tourist season. Near Psatha, the town of Porto Germeno, a popular summer resort for Athenians, is under threat. Firefighters are working to contain blazes that meteorologists suggest may be classified as "mega-fires," affecting vast areas.

Unfortunately, it is very likely (if not almost certain) that this fire will be classified as a mega-fire.

— Théodore GiannarosA meteorologist specializing in fires commented on the potential scale of the blaze near Porto Germeno.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by TVN Panamá in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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