TERRIBLE

2 Dead After Firefighting Helicopters Collide Midair in Greece

The crews were attempting to extinguish a wildfire near Athens.

A midair collision between two firefighting helicopters battling a wildfire in Greece killed two crew members and left two others alive, authorities said. The two who died, a Greek coordinator and a Danish pilot, were aboard the same helicopter. The two men in the other helicopter were both found alive. The crews were attempting to extinguish a fire on the border of the Attica and Boeotia regions of Greece, around 40 miles west of Athens. “The loss of the Greek coordinator and the Danish pilot while they were operating in the major fire at Porto Germeno fills us all with grief,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote in a social media post. “Sincere condolences to their families.” A total of 266 people were evacuated from the region over the weekend. Strong winds made it difficult for the more than 500 firefighters and nearly two dozen aircraft to control the blaze. Three other firefighters died last week in Greece while attempting to put out wildfires. “The fire risk remains very high,” Greece’s Chief Fire Officer Vasilios Vathrakoyannis said. “We are going through perhaps the most difficult days of the summer.”