Two Helicopters Collide During Firefighting in Greece

Two firefighting helicopters collided in mid-air during operations to tackle a major wildfire in Greece. The tragic accident resulted in the deaths of two crew members, as reported by the country's fire service.

According to reports, one of the deceased was a Greek national and the other was a citizen of Denmark. Citizens of Greece and the United Kingdom who were on the second helicopter survived. An investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the aviation accident.

The tragedy occurred in the Psata area of the Attica region, located northwest of Athens. A massive wildfire that broke out in this area has destroyed over 100 homes. Due to the rapid spread of the fire, several settlements on the tourist island of Kefalonia were also evacuated for safety reasons.

According to local media, the fire, which started in the Boeotia region and later spread to Attica, may have been caused by sparks from private power grid lines fanned by the wind. Law enforcement agencies have detained two Greek citizens on suspicion of negligence, and the search for another suspect is ongoing.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted that in some cases the forces of nature and adverse weather conditions exceed human capabilities, emphasizing that all forces and resources have been mobilized to fight the fires.

Meanwhile, other European countries are also facing large-scale natural disasters. In the Var region of France, a shift in wind direction caused a major wildfire to spread into hard-to-reach forests. Near the city of Carcassonne, a new fire broke out due to a burning car. As a result of the incident, a highway was temporarily closed, and a nearby zoo was evacuated.

In central Spain, although fires that engulfed tens of thousands of hectares last week have been largely brought under control, flames have flared up again in some areas. A number of European countries are also experiencing the consequences of drought and sharp drops in water levels. In Hungary, the water level of the Danube River dropped to a record low, causing the country's only nuclear power plant to halt operations for the first time in over 40 years. In Serbia, the water level in the Danube has also fallen to its lowest point since 1985, forcing the country's largest hydroelectric power plant to significantly reduce its generation capacity.