Firefighting Plane Crashes in Greece, Killing Both Pilots, as Wildfires Continue

July 25th, 1:52 PM EDT

Aerial firefighting continues on Vati village of Rhodes Island, Greece on July 25, 2023.

Damianidis Eleftherios/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

RHODES, Greece (NEWSnet/AP) — A Greece air force water-dropping plane crashed Tuesday while diving into a wildfire in southern Greece, killing both pilots, as authorities battled blazes that have raged throughout the nation.

A state ERT TV video showed the CL-215 aircraft releasing a load of water on the island of Evia before its wingtip apparently got snagged by a tree branch. Moments later, it disappeared into a deep fold, and a fireball erupted.

The pilots, aged 34 and 27, died in the crash. The plane had no ejection system.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis canceled a planned visit to Cyprus and Greece’s armed forces declared three days of mourning.

A Greek fire service spokesman said the worst blazes on Tuesday were on the southeastern island of Rhodes and the northwestern island of Corfu — both popular tourist destinations.

A heat wave in Greece pushed the temperature back above 104 degrees Fahrenheit across parts of the country Tuesday, amid a string of evacuations from fires that have raged for days.

Four villages on Rhodes were ordered evacuated Tuesday as a fire burning for eight days continued to move inland, torching mountainous forest areas, including a part of a nature reserve. Another five evacuations were ordered on Corfu, and one overnight on Evia.

It remains unclear how the blazes started, although tinder-dry conditions amid the summer heat mean the slightest spark can trigger a blaze.

Wildfires also have struck other Mediterranean countries, leaving at least 34 dead in Algeria.