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2 firefighting helicopters collide midair near Athens as Europe’s wildfire emergency rages
Nearly 500 firefighters and 23 aircraft were deployed, but gale-force winds crippled the response and forced evacuations from nearby communities.
- On Sunday, two Bell firefighting helicopters collided midair over Psatha west of Athens while battling a wind-driven wildfire, killing two crew members and leaving two others alive.
- Force 10 winds created extreme turbulence that hampered aerial firefighting operations, prompting Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to warn of "extremely difficult" conditions preventing aircraft from operating safely.
- Television footage showed one helicopter exploding after an apparent rotor strike; the four-person crew included one Greek, one Danish, and two British nationals involved in the midair collision.
- Fire spread forced evacuations in Porto Germeno and Agios Nektarios, where Greek police went door-to-door urging residents to flee as wildfires devastated over 12,000 hectares.
- The incident carries grim resonance with the 2018 Mati wildfire that killed 104 people, as wildfire meteorologist Theodore Giannaros said the Porto Germeno blaze is "highly likely" to be classified as a megafire.
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2 die when firefighting helicopters collide as Europe’s wildfire emergency rages
ATHENS, Greece — Two Greek firefighting helicopters collided in midair on Sunday as they were battling a wind-driven wildfire west of Athens, sending one aircraft crashing to the ground. Two crew members, a Greek and a Danish national, died in the crash.
·Portland, United States
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Le Journal de MontrealReposted by 
Le Journal de Quebec
Le Journal de QuebecThe pilot and co-pilot of one of the two helicopters collided in a violent fire in Greece on Sunday died.
·Montreal, Canada
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Two crew killed as firefighting helicopters collide in midair in Greece
Two crew members were killed on Sunday when two helicopters battling a wildfire collided in midair in the Psatha area, on the boundary between Attica and Boeotia northwest of Athens, the Hellenic Fire Service said.
·Caracas, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
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Total News Sources325
Leaning Left69Leaning Right63Center69Last UpdatedBias Distribution34% Left, 34% Center
Bias Distribution
- 34% of the sources lean Left, 34% of the sources are Center
34% Center
L 34%
C 34%
R 32%
Factuality
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