Two Greek firefighting helicopters collided in midair on Sunday as they were battling a wind-driven wildfire west of Athens, sending one aircraft crashing to the ground.
According to the Greek fire department, the four crew members were recovered. Two were recovered safely while the other two were unconscious.
The aircraft were Bell helicopters operating over the Psatha area west of Athens, each with a two-person crew. Two of those aboard were Greek and two were foreign nationals, but authorities did not identify their countries.
The collision laid bare the danger at the most volatile front of Europe’s wildfire emergency. Strong winds drove flames deeper into the region of the Greek capital and forced fresh evacuations.
Flames spread rapidly through western Attica, threatening communities and an industrial district outside Megara as violent gusts prevented firefighting aircraft from collecting water from the sea. The advance carried grim resonance in a region where the 2018 Mati wildfire killed 104 people, Europe’s deadliest blaze this century.
Gale-force winds crippled aerial assault near Athens. Nearly 500 firefighters and 23 aircraft were deployed, but gale-force winds drove flames through dry forest and crippled the response, preventing some aircraft from reaching the sea to collect water.
Authorities ordered the evacuation of Kandili, Agia Skepi and Toutouli as smoke rose over the mountains. Crews were particularly concerned about Porto Germeno, a seaside community on the Gulf of Corinth. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was briefed on the operation.
The fire began on Friday near Agios Vasileios before sweeping toward Porto Germeno and into the forested mountains west of Athens. Firefighters evacuated 254 people by sea Friday and another 12 Saturday — often the last escape route when fire and smoke cut the few roads from coastal communities.
Wildfire meteorologist Theodore Giannaros estimated the blaze had affected 40 to 50 square kilometers (15 to 19 square miles), though authorities had issued no official figure. Elsewhere in Greece, flames threatened homes on Kefalonia, forcing evacuations from inland communities as aircraft made water drops over the Ionian island. Firefighters battled another blaze near Nea Tenedos in Halkidiki.
Earlier this week, two firefighters died fighting a fire on Crete, while a third was killed in the Peloponnese.
Gironde Fire Remains Within Perimeter
Meanwhile, in southwestern France, the Gironde megafire remained held within its perimeter today but continued to burn after scorching 420 square kilometers (162 square miles) of forest in 10 days. “The fire is now fixed, which does not mean that the fire is extinguished,” the Gironde prefecture said, using the French firefighting term for a blaze whose advance has been stopped.
The region remained under France’s highest red forest-fire alert. Dry conditions, soaring temperatures around Bordeaux and afternoon winds threatened to rekindle the flames.
In Le Porge, local officials said that about 150 homes were destroyed. Mechanic Matthieu Plessis returned Saturday to the ruins of a house that had been in his family for seven generations.
Firefighters from Ukraine, Lithuania and French Polynesia were expected today and Monday to reinforce the operation.
In southeastern France, nearly 1,500 firefighters battled a separate blaze in the Var department that tore through about 18 square kilometers (7 square miles) in little more than a day. The Gros Bessillon fire was stabilized Sunday after its perimeter held overnight, but it remained uncontained. Some 2,500 people were evacuated as flames threatened nearby communities.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said that France’s fires were generally under control but warned that conditions remained volatile. He appointed a national coordinator to oversee reconstruction in fire-ravaged areas.More than 1,170 square kilometers (452 square miles) have burned across France this year.
On the other hand, Spain’s major fires, part of a season that has killed at least 13 people, produced the country’s largest recorded wildfire and prompted a national emergency, were no longer advancing Sunday.
In Zamora province near the Portuguese border, more than 20 ground and aerial units guarded the perimeter of the Fermoselle fire against flare-ups in the rugged Arribes del Duero landscape. According to local media, most evacuees had returned home.
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