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TWO crew members were killed after two firefighting helicopters collided in mid-air during a wildfire response operation in Greece on Sunday, authorities said.
The Greek Fire Department confirmed that the two rented Bell helicopters crashed into each other while carrying out firefighting operations in Psatha, west of Athens.
"The pilots were taken to hospital unconscious, but their deaths were confirmed at the hospital," AFP cited Fire Department Communications Director Vassilis Vathrakogiannis saying in a statement broadcast on television.
Footage aired on television showed one helicopter striking the underside of the other aircraft before exploding and crashing to the ground.
The crew of the second helicopter was rescued following the collision.
Hundreds of firefighters are continuing efforts to contain wildfires west of Athens and prevent the flames from spreading towards nearby suburbs after fires intensified overnight across mountainous areas.
State broadcaster ERT reported that all Bell helicopters operating in the region had been grounded temporarily as authorities investigate the cause of the crash.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the two victims were a Danish national and a Greek citizen.
Earlier, Mitsotakis warned that the country was facing "extremely difficult days" as Greece battled widespread wildfires.
The helicopter crash brings the number of deaths linked to wildfires in Greece this week to five, following the deaths of three firefighters in separate incidents in Crete and the Peloponnese region. - August 3, 2026
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