@c5news: A British pilot miraculously survived after two helicopters fighting wildfires in Greece collided mid-air. The collision, on Sunday, resulted in the deaths of a Danish pilot and a Greek fire service liaison officer. The British pilot and another Greek coordinator, in a second helicopter, survived. Footage of the crash, some 65km west of Athens, shows the moment one of the two Bell helicopters hits the rotors of the other, which bursts into flames and plummets to the ground. The second aircraft made an emergency landing. The two helicopters were battling a large wildfire burning on the Attica-Boeotia border. Wildfires have prompted mass evacuations in Greece and across Europe. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote on X: "I express my deepest sorrow for the tragic accident involving the two leased firefighting helicopters that cost the lives of two frontline fighters in the war against the fires under highly adverse weather conditions—especially for our aerial assets. 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. Sincere condolences to their families." The crash came after winds drove flames deeper into the Athens region on Sunday and forced a new wave of evacuations.

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Monday 03 August 2026 10:41:06 GMT