Two firefighting helicopters collide as Greece battles wildfires near Athens

Two firefighting helicopters collided west of Athens on Sunday, killing the two crew members aboard one aircraft as Greece battled rapidly spreading wildfires threatening communities near the capital.

According to The Guardian, the helicopters crashed while tackling a major blaze driven by powerful winds. The two crew members aboard the second aircraft were rescued.

Fire department communications director Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said: “The pilots … were taken unconscious to hospital, where their death was confirmed.”

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the victims were a Greek and a Danish pilot. The helicopters had been leased from Australia's McDermott Aviation, which has supported firefighting operations in Greece for the past seven years.

More than 100 homes were destroyed overnight near the coastal village of Porto Germeno, about 70 kilometres north-west of Athens.

More than 500 firefighters and specialist forest units have been deployed to contain the flames.

Mitsotakis warned of challenging conditions ahead, saying: “When the winds blow with such force, even the dozens of aircraft we have at our disposal cannot operate safely,” according to The Guardian.

The wildfires are part of a wider crisis across southern Europe, although officials said large fires in France and Spain have begun to come under control.

In Greece, authorities continue to battle multiple blazes as strong winds hamper firefighting efforts and force further evacuations.