Two pilots died when a firefighting Canadair scooper dropping water on a fire in the south of Greece crashed after a water drop; Greece’s air force confirmed that the pilots were killed on the island of Evia.
The Independent reported that two Hellenic Air Force pilots, Commander Christos Moulas, 34, and his 27-year-old co-pilot Pericles Stefanidis, were killed when their Canadair CL-215 crashed on Tuesday.
The accident occurred near the town of Karystos on the island of Evia near Athens, where a fire has been burning for several days. Local media reported that the plane’s wing clipped a tree after a drop; two helicopters and several ambulances responded immediately.
An Agence France-Presse report said the aircraft plunged into a ravine after clipping the tree. A fire service spokesman told the BBC the aircraft was a Greek Air Force plane.
A third successive heat wave in Greece has pushed temperatures back above 40°C (104°F) across parts of the country following more nighttime evacuations ahead of fires that have burned out of control for many days. The latest evacuations were ordered on the islands of Corfu and Evia, and a wildfire on the island of Rhodes has been moving inland.
Hundreds of firefighters, helped by forces from Turkey and Slovakia, have been battling the Rhodes fire since Wednesday after it resurged in hot and windy conditions. Tourists have been warned of the extreme fire risk in Crete, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cautioned residents and visitors about tough days ahead.
“All of us are standing guard,” he said. “In the face of what the entire planet is facing, especially the Mediterranean which is a climate change hotspot, there is no magical defense mechanism — if there was we would have implemented it.”
~ Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
A three-day period of mourning in the armed forces has been announced in memory of the pilots who died. Defence Minister Nikos Dendias said they lost their lives in “the line of duty … while attempting to protect the lives and property of citizens, as well as the environment of our country.”
The accident occurred nearly 16 years to the day when two Greek pilots lost their lives fighting wildfires on July 23, 2007. (Another crash near Athens had a much happier outcome back in 2016.)
The Guardian posted video of the accident, claiming the scooper was “spraying water” before the crash.
~ Thanks and a tip of the hardhat to Alex, Bob, and Tim.