Two die after helicopters collide mid-air in Greece while battling wildfires | BBC News

Two crew members have been killed after two helicopters collided mid-air in Greece while battling wildfires.

The fatalities were a Danish pilot and a Greek fire service liaison officer. A British pilot and another Greek co-ordinator on the second helicopter survived.

Video of the incident some 65 km (42 miles) west of the capital Athens shows one of the two Bell helicopters hitting the propellers of the other, which bursts into flames and crashes in a ravine. The other aircraft made an emergency landing. Wildfires have broken out in Greece this week, prompting mass evacuations. Other European states have also suffered devastating blazes during prolonged heatwaves.

The two leased Bell helicopters collided while taking part in efforts to tackle a large wildfire burning on the Attica-Boeotia border.

The crew members of one aircraft were rescued alive, while the second crew were recovered unconscious and later pronounced dead.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his "deepest sorrow" over the accident.

Clive Myrie presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Sarah Rainsford.

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