Two firefighting helicopters have collided in Greece while they were tackling wildfires, in an accident that left two people dead and two others injured. The crash added a fresh tragedy to a country already stretched by a punishing fire season, and emergency crews were sent to the scene to respond to what had happened in the air.
According to the fire service, the collision happened in a coastal area to the west of Athens. The location placed the accident close to where aerial crews have been operating against the flames, in a part of the country where firefighting aircraft have been heavily deployed during the current spell of blazes.
Two helicopters were involved in the collision, each of them carrying a crew of two, meaning four people in total were aboard the aircraft at the time. The toll of two dead and two injured reflects the small crews that operate these firefighting missions, where each aircraft carries only a handful of people.
The fire service said it had not yet been ascertained what caused the two aircraft to collide. Investigators are expected to examine the circumstances of the crash, including the conditions in which the crews were operating, as they try to establish how the two helicopters came together while working over the fire zone.
A search and rescue operation has been continuing in the area following the collision. Rescue teams moved in to reach those on board and to secure the site, working in terrain that has been affected by the wildfires the helicopters had been sent to help bring under control.
The accident comes as Greece battles a wave of devastating wildfires. The country has been among several European nations hit hard this season, after a succession of heat waves and a lack of rain created conditions that have allowed fires to spread quickly and forced authorities to lean heavily on aerial firefighting.