Plane fighting Greece wildfires crashes in Evia leaving two people dead

The plane was dropping water over fires on the island of Evia when it plummeted to the ground

Two people have been confirmed dead after a plane fighting the wildfires in Greece crashed.

The defence ministry said two Greek air force pilots, Commander Christos Moulas, 34, and his 27-year-old co-pilot Pericles Stefanidis, were killed when their Canadair CL-215 plane crashed on Tuesday.

The accident occurred about 30 minutes from the town of Karystos on the island of Evia near Athens, where a fire has been burning for several days.

Local media reported the plane’s wing clipped a tree, with footage showing the small plane plummeting to the ground and exploding after dropping its cargo over the blaze.

The plane crashed after offloading water on a wildfire on Evia (EPT/Twitter)

The accident was aired in a state television broadcast that showed the low-flying aircraft disappearing into a canyon before a fireball appeared moments later.

Two helicopters rushed to the scene to carry out a search and rescue operation, while several ambulances also attended.

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 owners of Lithos Villas told The Independent that the crash happened in Platanistos, a small village in the mountains with less than 100 houses. Of the fires, they added that hotels in Karystos remained unaffected aside from smoke in the air, and that tourists were enjoying their holidays as usual.

The Metro reported the accident occurred nearly 15 years to the day when two Greek pilots lost their lives fighting wildfires on 23 July 2007.

The Canadair CL-415 crashed into the hillside while tackling flames near the town of Styra. Speaking to Metro, the owners of nearby Villa Kasteli, which hosted Boris Johnson last August, said it was “ironic and sad” for locals.

The crash is believed to have occurred in the village of Platanistos where wildfires are raging (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

They added that they were “all ready” to evacuate if the order was given by authorities, while hotels in Karystos were offering shelter to those in the mountains who had to leave.

The crash comes as 20,000 people were forced to flee homes and hotels in Rhodes, in what has been the “biggest evacuation” in Greek history.

The wildfires, which have been spreading over the past week, have caused 2,000 holidaymakers to return home by plane on Monday, with around 2,500 people evacuated from Corfu as dozens of fires continue to rage.

A third successive heat wave in Greece has pushed temperatures back above 40C, with prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stating that the country was “at war with fire”.

Debris of a Canadair CL-215 firefighting aircraft, which crashed near while being flown to fight a wildfire in Karystos, on the Greek Aegean island of Evia, on July 25, 2023. (AFP/Getty)

Two pilots died when their water-bombing plane crashed while battling a blaze on the Greek island of Evia (AFP/Getty)

“This battle is uneven, and it will keep being like that for as long as the conditions remain hard,” the centre-right leader told the Greek parliament.

The European Union has sent 500 firefighters, 100 vehicles and seven planes from 10 member states, while Turkey, Israel, Egypt and other countries have also sent help. Contributing nations included Italy which is battling its own wildfires and extreme weather. On the island of Sicily, Palermo’s international airport temporarily shut down as flames from a wildfire approached.

An average of 50 new wildfires have broken out daily for the past 12 days in Greece, according to government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis. Over the weekend 64 new blazes were recorded.

Emergency services trying to put out wildfires on Rhodes (Sarah George/PA) (PA Media)

An aircraft drops water over a wildfire in Vati village, on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes, southeastern Greece (AP)

New estimates in Rhodes suggest that 10 per cent of the island has been burned, with additional rescue flights scheduled to bring home stranded holidaymakers.

The Foreign Office previously said that as many as 10,000 Britons were estimated to be on the island.

The fires will deal a blow to the tourist industry which is a mainstay of the Greek economy. It accounts for 18 per cent of gross domestic product and one in five jobs, with an even greater contribution on islands such as Rhodes.

High temperatures across parts of southern Europe and north Africa have been linked by scientists to the human-made climate crisis, with wildfires breaking out across the continent.

An extreme heatwave in Italy has caused a wildfire to encircle Palermo after temperatures in Sicily climbed to 47C.

An estimated 20,000 people have been evacuated to safety from the wildfires (AP)

Hundreds of firefighters from regions across the country have been called in to deal with the blaze, while an 88-year-old woman was reported to have died after emergency services failed to reach her in time.

However, northern regions continue to bear the brunt of the bad weather with torrential rain causing flooding and two women killed by falling trees.

Devastating forest fires have also killed at least 34 people in Algeria, with strong winds fanning the flames towards neighbouring Tunisia and causing two border closures.

UK airlines such as easyJet are continuing to sell flights to Rhodes, while two of the biggest tour operators, Jet2 and Tui, have cancelled all flights for the next days ahead.