Two helicopters collided this Sunday in Greece during firefighting efforts against the forest fire advancing towards Athens. About 6,700 hectares have already burned and thousands of people have had to be evacuated due to the fire declared four days ago, which this Sunday is about 35 kilometers from the Greek capital.
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According to local authorities, a “rescue operation” is underway to locate the crews, while Greece fights multiple fires fueled by strong winds. For now, the status of the victims and the causes of the accident are unknown.
This forest fire, which has several fronts, was declared last Thursday in the Boeotia region and has since spread, driven by strong winds of about 40 kilometers to the east, already in the Attica capital region, forcing thousands of people to evacuate from dozens of towns.
Two people have been arrested for their connection to a private electricity transmission network that did not function properly and generated sparks that caused the Boeotia fire, which later spread to Attica. The fire today threatens the industrial area of the coastal town of Megara, about 35 kilometers west of central Athens.
Aerial firefighting resources could not operate this Saturday in much of the country due to strong winds
Civil Protection has ordered since yesterday the evacuation of 500 people in twelve small towns near Megara, where 450 firefighters, with 126 trucks and 24 aerial resources, are trying to prevent the fire from reaching the industries and factories located there.
In its advance, the fire crossed the coastal town of Porto Germeno during the night from Friday to Saturday, burning more than a hundred houses, according to municipal sources. “There has been enormous ecological damage in our municipality. A virgin forest, which had regenerated after the great fire of 1985, has been largely lost,” emphasized Dimitris Vordos, deputy mayor of Megara, to Skai radio.
Last Wednesday, three firefighters lost their lives while operating in the fires in Crete and the Gythion region
The Greek Prime Minister, conservative Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said this Sunday that the government has invested in recent years “more than ever in strengthening Civil Protection.” Throughout Saturday, aerial firefighting resources could not operate in much of the country due to strong winds, with gusts reaching up to 130 kilometers per hour.
Meanwhile, more than 100 firefighters with 22 trucks, six planes, and a tanker helicopter are operating in the Phocis region (central) and the island of Cephalonia, in the Ionian Sea, where a new fire was declared this Sunday that has already forced the evacuation of four towns. Last Wednesday, three firefighters lost their lives while operating in the fires in Crete and the Gythion region.
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