Two helicopters have collided in Greece as they were battling to control wildfires.
Emergency services were called after the aircraft collided in the Psatha region of Attica, west of Athens.
The Bell-manufactured helicopters were each carrying two passengers and had taken off from the Elefsina military airport.
Striking footage shows one of the helicopters hitting the propellers of the other, which bursts into flames and both fell into a ravine.
Two of the four crew members involved were found unconscious, Greek media report, with the others sustaining light injuries.
A government official said crew members in one of the helicopters had since been found and were ‘safe’ – though a search-and-rescue operation is still underway to locate the other aircraft.
Hundreds of firefighters were today battling wind-fuelled fires near Porto Germeno – a short distance north from Psatha – on the Gulf of Corinth, north-west of the capital.
Authorities said strong winds made the fire spread more quickly and made it unpredictable for firefighters.
‘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.
