Two firefighting helicopters collided in midair west of Athens on Sunday as Greece's fire service fought fast-moving wildfires around the Gulf of Corinth, killing two crew members. Another two were found alive, per the AP. The crash occurred over Psatha, Deutsche Welle reports, with TV footage showing one aircraft bursting into flames and falling to the ground after what appeared to be a rotor strike. The fire department said a Greek and a Danish national were killed, while the two rescued were a Greek and a British national. Three firefighters had already been killed in recent days on Crete and in the Peloponnese.
Nearly 500 firefighters were working north of Psatha near Porto Germeno to stop flames from reaching the western edge of Athens, as winds nearing 60mph drove the blaze over a mountain. Police video showed officers on motorbikes going door to door in a nearby village, urging residents to leave. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned of "extremely difficult" days ahead, saying that winds were so strong that even dozens of aircraft could not always operate safely and that, at times, weather conditions overwhelm planning and response. France, Spain, and Portugal have been battling wildfires for the past two weeks that have driven hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their homes. Officials in Spain said the fires are the worst the region has ever dealt with, per the BBC.
This file has been updated with the deaths of two helicopter crew members.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
