Dramatic video has shown the terrifying moment two helicopters collided in mid-air while deployed to battle wildfires in Greece.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene following the crash in the Psatha area of Attica, west of Athens.
Both aircraft, manufactured by Bell, were carrying two people each and had departed from the Elefsina military airbase.
The alarming footage appears to show one helicopter edging toward the other before the aircraft make contact, with one bursting into flames and falling rapidly toward the ground.
A government official said the crew from one of the helicopters had been located and were “safe,” while search-and-rescue teams continued efforts to find the second aircraft.
The collision came as hundreds of firefighters worked to contain wind-driven wildfires near Porto Germeno, just north of Psatha on the Gulf of Corinth, northwest of Athens.
Officials said powerful winds were pushing the flames forward at speed, creating dangerous and unpredictable conditions for crews on the ground and in the air.
“The situation is extremely hard, especially today. We have really strong winds, gusts exceeding 73 kph (45 mph). The direction of the fire can’t be determined easily,” doctor and firefighter Giorgos Doulas said.
Two helicopters have crashed into each other while fighting wildfires in Greece. They collided in the Psatha region of Attica, west of Athens
Striking footage shows one of the aircraft slowly approaching the other – before their choppers clash and the helicopter erupts into a fireball and plummets to the ground
The aircraft were both carrying two passengers and had taken off from the Elefsina military airport
The fire department’s deputy spokesman Yiannis Artopios told state TV ERT that the wind was so strong that firefighters on the scene ‘couldn’t even open their vehicle doors’.
Nearly 500 Greek firefighters have been deployed to the region, assisted by emergency crew from France and Romania.
It comes as over 100 homes have been destroyed amid gale-force winds that have fueled flames in the area.
A military firing range is among the sites affected.
More than 200 people from the town of Agios Vasileios had to be evacuated by sea this week.
Around 500 people, mostly tourists, were left stranded after a fire broke out near the village in Viotia, central Greece, on Friday morning and rapidly spread in strong winds, local media reported.
Footage showed residents and holidaymakers boarding boats as volunteers and rescue teams worked to remove those from the town.
Other videos showed how smoke swirled around in the air as people flocked to board vessels.
Firefighters are seen battling bright orange flames caused by a wildfire near the village Agia Paraskevi, Greece
Trees burn during a wildfire near the village Agia Paraskevi. The region north of Athens has been badly affected
A Greek firefighter tries to extinguish a wildfire in the area of Porto Germeno
A firefighter stands as flames rise during a wildfire in Greece
A firefighting helicopter drops water over a wildfire in the area of Porto Germeno, just 45 miles of Athens
Authorities said strong winds made the fire spread more quickly and made it unpredictable
People there had previously been told by authorities to move inland before the fire reached the outskirts of the town.
Wildfires have also affected the Peloponnese peninsula and the islands of Crete, Paros and Lesvos – popular tourist destinations.
While the Foreign Office does not advise against travelling to Greece it said ‘there is a high risk of wildfires’.
It added that travellers should ensure that their ‘mobile phone is registered to receive emergency alerts to be warned of wildfires’.
Europe has been ravaged by wildfires this summer after successive record-breaking heatwaves, leaving vast stretches of drought-parched vegetation primed to burn, and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.
In Italy, authorities put nearly all of its major cities on the highest ‘red’ alert for high temperatures as a new heatwave threatened to grip the country.
Some 19 cities including Rome, Milan, Venice and Naples will now be on the alert as temperatures are set to hit the mid 30s C next week.
Successive heatwaves have created favourable conditions for wildfires across Europe and Britain.
A wildfire in Suffolk this week burnt 371 acres – equivalent to 210 football pitches and took hold near Britain’s biggest nuclear power station Sizewell B.
High temperatures can also be unsafe and could be dangerous even to healthy and active people, not just the elderly, the very young or people with chronic illness.
Austria recorded 395 heat-related deaths in June. Earlier this week, 2,877 people died from heat in Britain so far this year, while France reported 5,664 excess deaths in the country between June 17 and July 2.
Germany’s health authority recorded around 9,800 deaths this year linked to high temperatures.
