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Two helicopters collide outside Athens as Greece battles to control wildfires

Fire department says two-person crew of one aircraft killed in incident during gale-force winds to west of capital Two firefighting helicopters have collided west of Athens, killing the two-person crew of one of the aircraft, as efforts to control a massive wildfire barrelling towards the outskirts of the Greek capital intensified. Footage showed one of the helicopters losing control in the face of gale-force winds that have pushed flames towards settlements on Athens’ western fringes. “The pilots … were taken unconscious to hospital, where their death was confirmed,” said the fire department’s director of communications, Vassilis Vathrakogiannis. The Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the two dead were a Dane and a Greek. The two crew members of the second helicopter were rescued. The helicopters had been leased from Australia’s McDermott Aviation, part of a fleet of 15.

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Scoop News DeskAthens · Published Sunday, August 2, 2026 at 5:36 PM UTCUpdated Monday, August 3, 2026 at 4:00 PM UTC

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Authorities said the fire in the Gros Bessillon hills was stabilised on Sunday morning, meaning its perimeter had not expanded overnight. Warning of “extremely difficult” days ahead, Mitsotakis underlined the threat posed by gusts that in recent days have exceeded 78mph (125km/h). “When the winds blow with such force, even the dozens of aircraft we have at our disposal cannot operate safely,” he wrote on social media.

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Version 2updated
Sunday, August 2, 2026 at 5:54 PM UTC
Fire department says two-person crew of one aircraft killed in incident during gale-force winds to west of capital Two firefighting helicopters have collided west of Athens, killing the two-person crew of one of the aircraft, as efforts to control a massive wildfire barrelling towards the outskirts of the Greek capital intensified. Gale-force winds that have pushed flames towards settlements on Athens’ western fringes were caught on video on Sunday downing one of the helicopters. “The pilots . were taken unconscious to hospital, where their death was confirmed,” said the fire department’s director of communications, Vassilis Vathrakogiannis. As Europe’s wildfire crisis fractured along different routes – and in further proof of the destructive force of climate-driven wildfires across the continent – the blazes ripped through Greece’s tinder-dry landscape, up mountain slopes and down to the sea, before encroaching on the capital. By Sunday, more than 500 firefighters and forest commandos had been dispatched to keep the flames at bay.
Version 3updated
Sunday, August 2, 2026 at 9:01 PM UTC
Fire department says two-person crew of one aircraft killed in incident during gale-force winds to west of capital Two firefighting helicopters have collided west of Athens, killing the two-person crew of one of the aircraft, as efforts to control a massive wildfire barrelling towards the outskirts of the Greek capital intensified. Footage showed one of the helicopters losing control in the face of gale-force winds that have pushed flames towards settlements on Athens’ western fringes. “The pilots … were taken unconscious to hospital, where their death was confirmed,” said the fire department’s director of communications, Vassilis Vathrakogiannis. The Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the two dead were a Dane and a Greek. The two crew members of the second helicopter were rescued. The helicopters had been leased from Australia’s McDermott Aviation, part of a fleet of 15.
Version 4unpublished
Monday, August 3, 2026 at 4:00 PM UTC
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