Two pilots die in the collision of two helicopters working to extinguish a fire in Greece

BarcelonaThe two occupants of a helicopter participating in firefighting efforts in Greece have died after colliding in mid-air with another aircraft, whose two pilots were injured, according to various local media reports. The two fatalities are the Romanian pilot of the helicopter and the Greek co-pilot, according to the Skai broadcaster, which indicates that the crew members of the other vehicle – also of Romanian and Greek nationalities – have been transferred to a hospital with minor injuries.

Several television channels have broadcast images showing the two aircraft flying very close to each other, overflying a wooded area, until they collide. As a result of the impact, one of them catches fire, loses its main rotor, and crashes violently to the ground. The aircraft, identified by some media as Bell 214 models, were participating in firefighting efforts for a fire in Psatha, a coastal town located about 60 kilometers west of Athens.

The two aircraft had been chartered by the Fire Department and had taken off from Elefsis military airport, but it has not yet been reported whether the Greek crew members were members of the air force, who usually pilot aircraft intended for firefighting.

Meanwhile, the fire situation is serious. Declared four days ago, the flames have already burned about 100,000 hectares and thousands of people have had to be evacuated from their homes. The easternmost front of the fire was this Sunday about 35 kilometers from Athens, the capital of Greece. Last Wednesday, three firefighters died during firefighting efforts for two fires on the island of Crete and in the southern Peloponnese, which have now been brought under control.

The forest fire, which has several fronts, broke out last Thursday in the region of Boeotia and, since then, has spread about 40 kilometers to the east, fanned by strong winds, until it reached the Attica region, where thousands of people have had to be evacuated from dozens of localities. Two people have been arrested for their alleged connection with a private electrical transmission network that malfunctioned and generated sparks that would have originated the fire in Boeotia, which subsequently spread to Attica.

The fire today threatens the industrial area of the coastal town of Megara, located about 35 kilometers west of the center of Athens. Civil Protection has ordered since yesterday the evacuation of 500 people from twelve small localities near Megara, where 450 firefighters, with 126 trucks and 24 aerial means, are working to prevent the flames from reaching the industries and factories in the area. In its advance, the fire crossed the coastal town of Porto Germeno during the night from Friday to Saturday and incinerated more than a hundred houses, according to municipal sources.

The Greek Prime Minister, the conservative Kyriakos Mitsotakis, stated this Sunday that the Government has invested in recent years "more than ever to strengthen Civil Protection." "However, there are moments when the nature and intensity of meteorological phenomena exceed any human planning and any operational capacity," he remarked. Despite this, criticism from the opposition and a large part of society regarding the government's management of this new catastrophe on the outskirts of Athens is increasing.