Firefighting helicopters collide near Athens as Greece battles wildfires

Two Bell helicopters leased by Greece's fire department collided midair west of Athens while responding to wildfires that have devastated the region. The collision occurred in the Psatha area on Sunday, with television footage capturing one helicopter exploding and falling to the ground in flames following an apparent rotor strike. The two aircraft carried four crew members combined, and search and rescue teams were mobilized to locate the crews.

The helicopters had departed from Elefsina military airport within the Athens metropolitan area. Simultaneously, firefighters battled a separate blaze near Porto Germeno on the Gulf of Corinth, where flames crossed a mountain and reached a military firing range, triggering unexploded ordnance. Nearly 500 firefighters have been deployed, with additional personnel arriving from France and Romania.

Wildfires have ravaged Europe following a summer characterized by record-breaking heat and minimal rainfall—conditions scientists attribute partly to climate change. In Greece, new blazes have emerged after a period of relative calm. Gale-force winds that fueled the Porto Germeno fire have diminished, though flames reached the settlement of Veniza, and efforts intensified to prevent the fire from reaching the nearby coastal town of Megara. More than 10,000 hectares of land had likely been destroyed.

In the village of Agios Konstantinos, residents worked to contain the blaze. Tasos Tzempelikos, 61, and his son poured water on the fire, noting that firefighting forces could not be everywhere simultaneously. On Kefalonia island, a 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of deliberately starting a fire that broke out late Saturday in the Pastra area.

In France, wildfires in the Gironde and Var departments showed only minor activity, with the southeastern Var blaze not spreading overnight. In central Spain, fires that consumed tens of thousands of hectares over the preceding week were largely controlled, though firefighters managed re-ignitions in some areas. In Caceres province, approximately 800 evacuated residents were permitted to return on Sunday but remained confined to their homes as the fire remained active.

While blazes in France and Spain showed signs of easing, the crisis extended across Europe, with Hungary's sole nuclear power plant forced to shut for the first time in four decades as the Danube reached critical levels.