Footage shows the moment one Bell helicopter strikes another, after which it caught fire and crashed into a ravine. The accident occurred during firefighting operations for a major forest fire west of Athens.
Two crew members were killed when two helicopters collided on Sunday while fighting a major forest fire in Greece. The accident occurred in the Psatha area, about 65 kilometers west of Athens, and the tragic moment was captured on video that quickly spread across social media.
According to available information, a Danish pilot and a Greek fire service liaison officer lost their lives in the collision. The other helicopter carried a British pilot and another Greek coordinator, who survived the crash. Footage of the incident, posted on X by user FL360aero, shows one of the Bell 214ST helicopters striking the rotor of the other, after which it caught fire and crashed into a ravine. The other helicopter made a forced landing.
The Greek fire service reported that two Bell helicopters collided during firefighting operations for a large fire that broke out on the border of the Attica and Boeotia regions. The helicopters were Bell 214ST models, one of which bore registration N511EV, serial number 28105, and was manufactured back in 1982.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis took to social media platform X to express deep condolences to the families of the deceased. "The loss of the Greek coordinator and the Danish pilot has filled us all with sorrow," the Prime Minister wrote.
Greece has been hit by numerous forest fires this week, leading to mass evacuations. All of Europe is battling devastating fires caused by prolonged heatwaves. As an illustration of the severity of the situation, the Irish Independent notes that Hungary was forced to shut down a nuclear power plant because the Danube River had dried up.
