2 killed when firefighting helicopters collide near Athens as Europe’s
wildfire emergency rages
[August 03, 2026]
By ELENA BECATOROS and THOMAS ADAMSON
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Two Greek firefighting helicopters collided in
midair on Sunday as they were battling a wind-driven wildfire west of
Athens, sending one aircraft crashing to the ground. Two crew members, a
Greek and a Danish national, died in the crash.
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.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed “sorrow for the
tragic accident” and extended condolences to the families of the
firefighters killed in the crash.
"The loss of the Greek coordinator and the Danish pilot at the time they
were attempting the major fire in Porto Gremeno fills us all with
grief," Mitsotakis said in a statement.
The aircraft were Bell helicopters operating over the Psatha area west
of Athens, each with a two-person crew. Foreign firefighting and
helicopter crews are often deployed in Greece to help tackle wildfires
during the country’s hot, dry summers.
The two crew members who were recovered alive were a Greek and a British
national.
The flames had spread rapidly, threatening communities and an industrial
district as violent gusts prevented firefighting aircraft from
collecting water from the sea. The blaze carried a 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 evacuation outside wartime.
Hot spots still burned within a 420-square-kilometer (162-square-mile)
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.
Record fire damage underscores 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 kilometers (3,860 square miles) 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 cripple aerial assault 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 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.
The fire began Friday near Agios Vasileios before sweeping toward Porto
Germeno and into the forested mountains west of Athens. Firefighters
evacuated 254 people by sea 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 kilometers (15 to 19 square miles), though
authorities had issued no official figure.
[to top of second column]
|
A firefighting helicopter drops water over a smoke-filled forest
during a wildfire near Porto Germeno, northwest of Athens, Greece,
Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas)
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 on the peninsula of Halkidiki.
Earlier this week, two firefighters died fighting a fire on Crete,
while a third was killed on 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 holds off renewed flames
In southwestern France, the Gironde megafire remained held within
its perimeter Sunday but continued to burn after scorching 420
square kilometers (162 square miles) 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 Le Porge, local officials said about 150 homes were destroyed.
Mechanic Matthieu Plessis returned Saturday to the ruins of a house
that had been in his family for seven generations.
“There are places I don’t even recognize anymore,” he said. “You
don’t even know what was here anymore, or who lived where.”
Firefighters from Ukraine, Lithuania and French Polynesia were
expected Sunday and Monday to reinforce the operation.
Provence fire stops advancing but remains uncontained
In southeastern France, nearly 1,500 firefighters battled a separate
blaze in the Var department that tore through about 18 square
kilometers (7 square miles) in little more than a day.
The Gros Bessillon fire was stabilized Sunday after its perimeter
held overnight, but it remained uncontained. Some 2,500 people were
evacuated as flames threatened nearby communities.
It was the fourth major fire to strike central Var since July 19. A
smaller blaze near Brignoles earlier in the week forced actor George
Clooney and his family, along with about 700 other residents, to
evacuate before it was brought under control.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said France’s fires were generally
under control but warned that conditions remained volatile. He
appointed a national coordinator to oversee reconstruction in
fire-ravaged areas.
More than 1,170 square kilometers (452 square miles) have burned
across France this year.
Spain’s deadly fire siege eases
Spain’s major fires — which have 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.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called for a national pact
to confront wildfires, warning that climate change is making them
increasingly destructive.
___
Adamson reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Nicolas
Garriga in Lacanau, France; Michael Varaklas in Megara, Greece; and
Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
