Two firefighting helicopters collide midair fighting blazes in Greece

Two firefighting helicopters collide midair fighting blazes in Greece Mon 3 Aug 2026 at 4:55am In short: Two firefighters are dead after a collision between two helicopters near Athens, as Europe's wildfire emergency continues. Dry conditions and strong winds are complicating efforts to bring fires across Greece under control. Meanwhile, fire-hit areas of France and Spain remain on alert despite most blazes coming under control. Two Greek firefighting helicopters have collided in midair while battling a wind-driven wildfire west of Athens, with footage showing one aircraft crashing to the ground. Local fire officials said two firefighters aboard one of the helicopters died in the crash, while the crew on the second helicopter survived. 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, France guarded a still-burning scar four times the size of Paris, while Spain's major fires stopped advancing. 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. 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. Farther west, containment brought no end to the emergency. France's largest wildfire remained held within its perimeter after forcing 224,000 people to flee in what may have been the country's largest civilian peacetime evacuation. Hot spots still burned within a 420-square-kilometre scar, thousands remained unable to return home, and nearly 3,000 firefighters were deployed against the Gironde megafire and a second, still-uncontained blaze in Provence. Together, fires in France and Spain have driven roughly a third of a million people from homes and vacation sites, emptied communities at the height of the European summer and stretched emergency services across simultaneous disasters. Europe's growing wildfire threat The mass evacuations in France and Spain are the latest measure of a wildfire threat growing across Europe. The continent entered 2026 after its worst fire year on record, with more than 10,000 square kilometres burned in 2025. Over the past four decades, wildfires have been linked to nearly 800 deaths across much of Europe, according to the European Environment Agency. Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent. It has warmed more than twice the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service. Human-caused climate change made the extreme fire weather conditions behind this year's French blazes at least twice as likely, scientists at World Weather Attribution found in a rapid analysis conducted while the fires were still burning. Gale-force winds fan flames 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 the communities 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 on 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 kilometres, 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. Last week, two firefighters died fighting a fire on Crete, while a third was killed in the Peloponnese. "A pristine forest, a paradise, was surrendered to the hands of the fire," local farmer Minas Tzortzanis said Saturday. "There are no words to explain what has happened. Destruction. Total destruction." France, Spain on alert In south-western France, the Gironde megafire remained held within its perimeter Sunday but continued to burn after scorching 420 square kilometres 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 south-eastern France, nearly 1,500 firefighters battled a separate blaze in the Var department that tore through about 18 square kilometres in little more than a day. 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 on 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. Most evacuees had returned home, according to local media. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called for a national pact to confront wildfires, warning that climate change is making them increasingly destructive. AP/Reuters