Two people died after two helicopters involved in extinguishing a wildfire in Greece collided in mid-air. Two other people were slightly injured and taken to hospital, IPN reports.
The victims are a Danish pilot and a Greek firefighting aerial coordinator. The other two crew members survived and were hospitalized with minor injuries.
According to Greek authorities, quoted by local media, the two Bell helicopters were leased by the state for aerial interventions and were participating in extinguishing the fires in the Attica and Boeotia regions. All four people on board were employees of private companies.
After the collision, search and rescue teams responded to the scene of the accident, recovering the victims and survivors. Authorities have opened an investigation to determine the causes of the accident.
Following the tragedy, all Bell helicopters used to fight the fires were temporarily grounded, but operations continue with other aircraft.
