A firefighting helicopter drops water over a wildfire in the area of Porto Germeno, some 70 kilometres (45 miles) northwest of Athens in the region of Viotia, on August 2, 2026. (Photo by Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP)
Porto Germeno, Greece: Two fire helicopters collided in Greece on Sunday as forces battled multiple wildfires that have devastated swathes of land, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warning of "extremely difficult" days ahead.
The hired Bell helicopters collided while battling a wildfire in the Psatha area west of Athens, the fire service said on Sunday.
"Search and rescue teams were immediately mobilised to locate and assist the crews," it said.
State broadcaster ERT reported that one crewmember had been found safe, while rescuers were searching for the second.
Television footage showed one of the helicopters explode and plunge to the ground in flames after an apparent rotor collision.
Mitsotakis earlier said Greece was experiencing "extreme weather conditions" with winds that had reached 100 kilometres (60 miles) an hour.
"When the winds blow with such force, even the dozens of aircraft we have at our disposal cannot operate safely," he wrote on Facebook.
Nearly 500 firefighters were battling blazes around the popular coastal village of Porto Germeno, 70 kilometres northwest of Athens, the fire department said.
They were attempting to keep the fire from approaching the western outskirts of Athens after it scaled a mountain overnight.
