The Victims Were a Danish Pilot and a Greek Fire Service Liaison Officer

Two crew members were killed when two firefighting helicopters collided mid-air in Greece while battling wildfires, local authorities said. The victims were a Danish pilot and a Greek fire service liaison officer. A British pilot and another Greek coordinator on the second helicopter survived.

Video of the incident, about 65 km (42 miles) west of Athens, shows one of the two Bell helicopters striking the propellers of the other, which burst into flames and crashed in a ravine. The other aircraft made an emergency landing. The two leased Bell helicopters collided on Sunday while fighting a large wildfire on the Attica-Boeotia border, according to the Greek Fire Service.

Crew members of one aircraft were rescued alive, while the second crew were recovered unconscious and later pronounced dead. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his "deepest sorrow" over the accident, saying in a post on X that the loss of the Greek coordinator and Danish pilot "fills us all with grief. He also sent condolences to their families.

Firefighters and forensic experts were later seen at the crash site. All Bell helicopters across the country have been grounded, a source from the civil protection ministry told the BBC. The second Bell helicopter made an emergency landing in an area of low vegetation.

"The two people on board, a British pilot and a Greek fire service liaison officer, escaped with minor injuries, the source said. "Both remained conscious and have been admitted to hospital, where they will remain under observation for 24 hours as a precaution. The source added that the British survivor was a private pilot hired for the wildfire season, not part of any exchange between the UK and Greece, and there was no request for assistance from Athens.

Greece's Ekathimerini news website said the two survivors immediately reported the collision, guiding rescuers to the crash site. The names of the four crew members have not been publicly released. Erickson Air-Crane and Chinook helicopters, as well as Canadair water-bombing aircraft, continue firefighting efforts.

Earlier this week, France and Spain battled huge fires near Madrid and Bordeaux, which have been contained but are still burning. Some 300,000 evacuated people have started returning home. In Greece, media reports describe "a titanic battle" across a swathe of territory including Porto Germeno, Psatha, Fokida, Megara, and Kefalonia, where more than 500 firefighters have struggled to control the situation over the past 72 hours.

Most wildfires are sparked by people, whether intentionally or accidentally, but climate change is making conditions for them more common. Last winter's mild, wet weather encouraged vegetation growth, which has dried out in successive hot spells, generating fuel for wildfires."