Two firefighting helicopters collide mid-air while battling Greece wildfire; search underway for four crew members
2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Aug 2, 2026 09:11 PM IST
A search-and-rescue operation was launched in Greece on Sunday after two firefighting helicopters collided mid-air while battling a major wildfire near Athens, with four crew members reported onboard.
According to the Greek fire department, the fire department leased the helicopters, and they departed from the Elefsina military airport. A search and rescue operation was launched, as authorities declined to reveal the condition of the crews immediately.
A firefighting helicopter drops water over a smoke-filled forest during a wildfire near Porto Germeno, northwest of Athens, Greece. (AP Photo)
There was no information provided by the authorities regarding the reason behind the crash of the two helicopters.
The collision highlighted the threats involved at the most volatile front of Europe’s raging wildfire. Strong winds have driven flames deeper into the capital, Athens, and have forced people to evacuate the region. Thousands of people have been evacuated till now, as the blaze spreads in multiple areas of Greece, including parts of the mainland and tourist destinations.
Greece’s island of Crete has faced major disruption due to wildfires as the blaze burned down thousands of hectares of land and triggered the temporary evacuation of more than 8,000 people, the BBC reported.
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, earlier on Sunday, said that the country is facing “extreme weather conditions,” and warned that “extremely difficult” days were ahead amid the ongoing wildfires.
“There are moments when nature and the intensity of weather phenomena surpass any human planning and any operational capability,” Mitsotakis wrote in a post on social media.
(with inputs from agencies)
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