In brief
A tragic mid‑air collision involving two Bell helicopters fighting wildfires just 65 kilometres west of Athens resulted in the deaths of a Danish pilot and a Greek fire‑service liaison officer. Both helicopters were leased by Australian company McDermott Aviation and had been deployed to a large blaze on the Attica‑Boeotia border. The surviving British private pilot and Greek coordinator escaped with minor injuries after making an emergency landing in low vegetation. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed deep sorrow over the incident and sent condolences to the families of the victims. The incident has prompted a grounding of all Bell helicopters in Greece and highlighted the escalating risk of wildfires amid Europe’s hot‑spell heatwave.
A mid‑air collision on Sunday between two Bell helicopters battling wildfires west of Athens killed a Danish pilot and a Greek fire‑service liaison officer. The helicopters were leasing a contract from Australian company McDermott Aviation and were operating over the Attica‑Boeotia border, where a huge blaze had been raging for several days.
Video footage shows one helicopter’s rotor striking the other’s fuselage, setting the aircraft on fire and causing it to crash into a ravine. The second aircraft managed an emergency landing on a stretch of low vegetation and its crew returned to safety with minor injuries.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis released a statement expressing “deepest sorrow” and noting that the loss “fills us all with grief.” He announced that all Bell helicopters were grounded pending investigation.
McDermott Aviation’s founder John McDermott said the company’s staff are “thoughts and deepest condolences” for the affected families and that they are assisting authorities in the ensuing inquiry.
The incident comes amid an intensive battle against wildfires across Greece, where more than 500 firefighters have been fighting flames for the past 72 hours, and parallels the recent large fires that have affected Spain and France during the same prolonged heatwave.
