Chopper Carrying Honeymooners Crashes, Burns

A honeymoon trip ended in disaster Monday when a helicopter carrying the newlyweds to the Greek island of Sifnos crashed and burned. The victims were identified as British nationals Alexander Cromie, 31, Marie Ebert, 30, and their 50-something Greek pilot, Giorgos Raikos, per the Telegraph. The private helicopter, a Bell 206, had departed from the village of Markopoulo outside Athens before crashing a short distance from Sifnos homes and a landing pad, the BBC reports.

Sifnos' deputy mayor told local media there was "almost nothing left" of the aircraft, which residents reported had issued a "strange noise" moments before impact. Footage from a nearby home showed the helicopter spinning out of control, the Mirror reports. Firefighters extinguished a post-crash fire, and investigators are probing the cause, with a mechanical fault suspected, per the Guardian. Officials described Raikos as an "extremely experienced" former Greek Air Force officer. Cromie was an asset manager at Blackstone, while Ebert was a marketer at Bain & Company. Both companies said they were "shocked" by the "tragic" accident.