Two helicopters participating in extinguishing a vegetation fire in Greece collided in mid-air during an intervention mission on Sunday.
Two people aboard one of the aircraft died. They were a Dane and a Greek. The crew of the second helicopter – a Greek and a Briton – were rescued, as reported by Greek authorities cited by Reuters.
The accident occurred above the village of Psathas, on the shore of the Corinth Gulf, in an area affected by a fire that broke out since Friday evening. According to firefighters, the intervention took place under extremely difficult conditions due to strong wind gusts.
On Saturday, the wind hindered dozens of specialized aircraft from participating in extinguishing the fire for several hours. An operations official stated that at times, the gusts were so strong that firefighters couldn't even open the doors of the fire trucks.
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Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the situation as "extremely difficult," stating that Greece is facing "extreme weather conditions," with winds frequently reaching 100 km/h. "There are moments when the nature and intensity of weather phenomena exceed any human planning and operational capacity," he wrote on Facebook.
Over the past week, the flames have destroyed over 12,000 hectares of forests and agricultural land. Earlier in the week, the tourist islands of Crete and Paros were also affected, where another approximately 6,000 hectares burned.
Meteorologist Theodoros Giannaros, a researcher at the National Observatory of Greece and a vegetation fire specialist, estimates that just the fire in the Porto Germeno area affected over 10,000 hectares and could be classified as a "mega-fire."
According to authorities, dozens of homes have been damaged or destroyed in the Porto Germeno area, where several locals recounted that the flames, fueled by strong winds, made any attempt to save properties impossible.
Authorities warn that the risk of fires will remain very high on Monday as well, especially in Attica, the region of Athens, and in Boeotia. Nearly 500 firefighters are mobilized in the Porto Germeno area, with another approximately 100 intervening in another fire in northern Peloponnese.
Three firefighters lost their lives this week during fire extinguishing missions.
IGSU: Romanian personnel are safe
The General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations and the General Aviation Inspectorate announced on Sunday that Romania does not have any aircraft or crew members deployed in Greece for firefighting missions.
Additionally, the Romanian firefighter module sent to Greece through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism is not in the region where the collision between the two helicopters occurred and is exclusively involved in ground interventions for extinguishing vegetation fires.
"Romanian personnel are safe and continue their operational activities," authorities stated, expressing solidarity with the crews involved in the accident and hoping for their safe recovery.
To monitor and mitigate the effects of fires, Greece is employing over 100 drones and four thermal satellites this summer, while authorities hope that the wind intensity will decrease in the coming hours.