Disasters & Incidents
Greece fires: 2 killed in helicopter collision
Two crew members were killed when two hired Bell firefighting helicopters collided while tackling a wildfire in the Psatha area west of Athens on Sunday, August 2, the Greek fire service said.
Fire department communications director Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said the pilots were taken unconscious to hospital, where their deaths were confirmed. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the two dead were a Dane and a Greek. The crew of the second helicopter was rescued.
Television footage showed one helicopter hit the underside of the other before exploding and falling to the ground. State broadcaster ERT said the fire department grounded all Bell helicopters in the area pending an investigation. The helicopters had been leased from Australia's McDermott Aviation, part of a fleet of 15.
The deaths raised the toll from this week's Greek fires to five, after three firefighters died in Crete and the Peloponnese. Hundreds of firefighters were trying to stop a fire west of Athens from reaching the outskirts of the capital after it scaled a mountain overnight.
Vathrakogiannis said 220 forest and agricultural fires had broken out around Greece since Monday. Mitsotakis said Greece was facing extreme weather, with winds that had reached 100 kilometres an hour, and said aircraft could not operate safely in such conditions.
Porto Germeno and other villages were evacuated after a fire broke out on Friday, and local authorities said scores of homes were damaged or destroyed. The National Observatory's meteo.gr climate tracker estimated that more than 6,500 hectares had burned in separate fires on the Gulf of Corinth, including around Porto Germeno.
Theodore Giannaros, a wildfire meteorologist and senior researcher at the National Observatory, said the Porto Germeno fire appeared to have affected more than 10,000 hectares and was highly likely to be classified as a megafire.
ANA, the Greek news agency, reported that a 44-year-old man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of deliberately starting a fire on the Ionian island of Cephalonia. Two men working for an electricity company were also arrested over a large fire near Porto Germeno.
The civil protection ministry said the greater Athens area, nearby Voiotia and the island of Evia would be under near-maximum fire risk on Monday for a second straight day.
Update
Fire department communications director Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said 220 forest and agricultural fires had broken out around Greece since Monday.
Officials had warned that violent winds made aerial firefighting hazardous, and most aircraft had been sidelined until Sunday.
Meteo.gr said conditions remained adverse, mainly because of strong northerly winds that had partly weakened compared with previous days.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 August 2026 at 18:04:24 UTC.
Update
The crew of the second helicopter was rescued.
State TV ERT said Bell helicopters in the area were grounded pending an investigation.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the two dead crew members were a Dane and a Greek.
The accident raised the death toll from this week's Greek fires to five, after three firefighters died in Crete and the Peloponnese.
ANA reported a 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of deliberately starting a fire on Cephalonia.
Two men working for an electricity company were arrested over a fire near Porto Germeno.
Meteo.gr estimated more than 6,500 hectares had burned in separate fires on the Gulf of Corinth, and a National Observatory researcher said the Porto Germeno fire appeared to have affected more than 10,000 hectares.
The greater Athens area, nearby Voiotia and Evia were placed under near-maximum fire risk for Monday.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 August 2026 at 17:15:44 UTC.
Update
The two-person crew of the firefighting helicopter were killed.
Fire department communications director Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said the pilots were taken unconscious to hospital, where their deaths were confirmed.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 August 2026 at 16:55:05 UTC.
Update
A spokesman said a firefighting helicopter crew member was dead after the collision.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 August 2026 at 16:42:14 UTC.
Update
Greek state broadcaster ERT reported that one crew member had been found safe and rescuers were searching for a second.
Television footage showed one helicopter explode and fall after an apparent rotor collision.
Greek news agency ANA reported that a 44-year-old man was arrested in Cephalonia on suspicion of deliberately starting a fire.
A wildfire meteorologist at the National Observatory said the Porto Germeno fire appeared to have affected more than 10,000 hectares and was likely to be classified as a megafire.
Meteo.gr said winds had partially weakened compared with previous days, while adverse conditions remained.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 August 2026 at 14:04:17 UTC.
Update
The firefighting helicopters collided in the Psatha area west of Athens.
The fire service said search and rescue teams were immediately mobilised to locate and assist the crews.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 August 2026 at 13:37:01 UTC.
Update
Two firefighting helicopters collided while battling a Greece wildfire, the fire service said.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 August 2026 at 13:28:27 UTC.
Update
A 44-year-old man was arrested on Cephalonia on suspicion of deliberately starting a fire, according to ANA.
Greek police released footage of officers evacuating residents door to door in Agios Nektarios, near Porto Germeno.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 August 2026 at 13:26:54 UTC.
Update
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned that Greece faced "extremely difficult" days ahead.
Mitsotakis said winds often reached 100 kilometres an hour and could prevent firefighting aircraft from operating safely.
Firefighters around Porto Germeno were trying to stop the fire approaching Athens' western outskirts after it crossed a mountain overnight.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 August 2026 at 09:01:32 UTC.
Update
Wildfire meteorologist Theodore Giannaros said the fires around Porto Germeno appear to have affected more than 10,000 hectares.
Giannaros said it was highly likely, if not almost certain, that the Porto Germeno wildfire would be classified as a megafire.
Civil Protection Minister Evangelos Tournas said Greece's fire department had been pushed to its limits.
Source note: AFP news report published on 2 August 2026 at 07:39:06 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The cause of the helicopter collision remains under investigation.
Burned-area figures are estimates and are not directly comparable because they refer to different scopes around the Gulf of Corinth and Porto Germeno.
The possible megafire classification for Porto Germeno was presented as likely, not final.
Arrests over suspected fire-starting remain allegations unless and until established through legal proceedings.
Source
AFP news report published on .