Firefighting helicopters collide in Greece amid European wildfire crisis

Core Impact Points

• The collision occurred while the helicopters were operating over the Psatha area west of Athens, Greece.
• The two crew members killed in the incident were a Greek national and a Danish national.
• The wildfire in Greece has forced the evacuation of 254 people by sea and another 12 on Saturday.
• The European wildfire crisis has displaced hundreds of thousands of people across the continent, with fires in France and Spain also affecting communities.
• The incident highlights the dangers faced by firefighters in Europe's ongoing wildfire crisis, which has been linked to nearly 800 deaths across the continent over the past four decades.
• Human-caused climate change has made extreme fire-weather conditions at least twice as likely, scientists at World Weather Attribution found in a rapid analysis conducted while the fires were still burning.