Two helicopters collided while extinguishing a fire in Greece, two people were killed.
Nearly 500 firefighters have been mobilized to combat the fires breaking out across the country.
Two firefighting helicopters collided mid-air while extinguishing wildfires in Greece. As a result, one helicopter crashed, killing two crew members. Al Jazeera reported on this.
The incident occurred on Sunday in the Psata area west of Athens. According to the Greek fire service, four crew members were rescued after the collision. However, two people on one of the helicopters died at the scene, while the crew of the second helicopter survived.
Videos shown by local television channels depicted one of the helicopters exploding and crashing to the ground engulfed in flames following a rotor collision. The helicopters were participating in efforts to extinguish wildfires spreading rapidly due to strong winds in the Psata area. As a result of the fires, more than 100 homes have been destroyed in Greece, and evacuations have been declared in numerous settlements.
At the same time, efforts to contain a major fire are ongoing in the Porto Germeno area along the Gulf of Corinth. The flames crossed the mountain and reached a military training ground, where unexploded ordnance was activated. Nearly 500 firefighters have been mobilized to combat the fires across the country. Additional forces have also arrived from France and Romania.
Although Greece had experienced relative calm in recent weeks, new fires have been recorded in several other areas. Despite the strong winds in Porto Germeno subsiding, the flames have reached the settlement of Veniza. Measures are currently being taken to prevent the fire from spreading into the coastal town of Megara.
According to local media, more than 10,000 hectares of land may have burned so far. On the island of Kefalonia, a 44-year-old man suspected of deliberately setting the fire in the Pastra area has been arrested.
Meanwhile, fires in the Gironde and Var departments of France have significantly subsided. In central regions of Spain, major fires have largely been brought under control, though flames are intensifying again in some places.
The prolonged heatwave and drought in Europe are not only intensifying wildfires but also causing other problems. Due to a record drop in water levels in the Danube River, Hungary's only nuclear power plant has halted operations for the first time in nearly 40 years.
In Serbia, the water level in the Danube has fallen to its lowest level since 1985, causing the country's largest hydroelectric power plants to operate at only 20–30% of their capacity.
