Greek Pilots Die Trying to Put Out Wildfire on Euboea Island

On Tuesday, the Greek Aviation General Staff confirmed the death of two pilots trying to put out a forest fire on the island of Euboea.

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The two soldiers, aged 27 and 34, were piloting a Canadair-type tanker plane, which crashed near the town of Platanistos, shortly after dropping water on the flames. The Greek Armed Forces declared three days of mourning for their deaths.

A video published by public television ERT shows how the plane crashed after throwing water on the fire front, and how seconds later a large explosion occurs.

After making a very low flight over the fire, the right wing hits a tree and loses the right float, the part of the planes that prevents the wings from touching the surface of the sea when they are supplied with water.

For the past three days, firefighters have been trying to control a large fire on Euboea, the sixth largest island in the Mediterranean, located northeast of Athens.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis decided to postpone an official visit to Cyprus scheduled for Wednesday due to what he called a "tragic incident."

Currently, the Greeks are fighting dozens of wildfires prompted by the heat wave that hits Europe. The largest and most uncontrolled wildfires are on the islands of Rhodes and Corfu, where thousands of people have had to be evacuated.