A firefighter stands as flames rise during a wildfire near Porto Germeno, northwest of Athens, Greece, on Sunday. MICHAEL VARAKLAS/AP
AGIOS KONSTANTINOS — Five water-dropping planes and another five helicopters took off at first light on Monday to help hundreds of firefighters battling a major wildfire west of Athens, Greece, a day after a midair collision between two firefighting helicopters killed two crew members.
The fire service said the two helicopters collided in the area of Psatha in the Attica region. A Greek and a Danish national on a helicopter died, while the crew on the other, one person from Greece and another from Britain, survived.
Foreign firefighting and helicopter crews are often deployed in Greece to help tackle wildfires during the country's hot, dry summers.
Investigations have started into what caused the collision, it added.
