Two firefighting helicopters collide midair fighting blazes in Greece
Two firefighters are dead after a collision between two helicopters near Athens, as Europe's wildfire emergency continues.
Two firefighting helicopters collided midair while tackling a wind-driven wildfire west of Athens, resulting in the deaths of two firefighters aboard one of the aircraft. The collision, which occurred on Friday near the Greek capital, exposed the perilous nature of firefighting operations in the midst of Europe's ongoing wildfire emergency.
Strong winds and dry conditions exacerbated the situation, forcing fresh evacuations and complicating efforts to control the flames across Greece. Meanwhile, in France and Spain, mass evacuations continued as massive wildfires raged, driven by extreme weather conditions exacerbated by climate change. The Gironde megafire in France, the country's largest fire in over a decade, forced the evacuation of 224,000 people and left thousands unable to return to their homes.
In Spain, the major fires had stopped advancing but continued to burn, prompting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call for a national pact to confront wildfires, emphasizing the increasing destructiveness caused by climate change.
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