Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus is ready to assist Greece’s firefighting operation as wildfires continue to burn in western Attica, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Monday. His comments followed a helicopter collision near Psatha on Sunday that killed two people.
Cyprus offers support
Christodoulides said Cyprus was following the destruction caused by recent deadly fires in Greece with pain.
“We join in mourning for the loss of human lives and our thoughts are with our Greek brothers who are suffering,” he said.
He added that the Cypriot government, through national civil protection coordinator Nikos Longinos, was in constant communication with the Greek government and stood ready to assist if called upon.
Helicopter crash under investigation
Two firefighting helicopters collided on Sunday afternoon near the coastal town of Psatha, about 65 kilometres west of Athens.
A Danish pilot and a Greek fire brigade liaison officer died after one helicopter caught fire and fell into a ravine. The second helicopter, although damaged, made an emergency landing. Its British pilot and Greek co-coordinator survived.
Greek police said an investigation into the crash was under way and that the site had been secured.
Evacuations and high winds
As of Monday morning, fires were still burning near the village of Ayios Nektarios, east of Psatha. Residents as far east as Nea Peramos, on the Gulf of Elefsina, received emergency evacuation alerts.
The fires have been intensified by winds reaching up to 100 kilometres per hour.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned on Sunday that the high winds could prevent aerial firefighting aircraft from operating safely.
“When the winds blow with such force, even the dozens of aircraft we have at our disposal cannot operate safely,” he said, warning of “extremely difficult” days ahead.
