Two crew members were killed after two firefighting helicopters collided mid-air in Greece on August 3, 2026, while battling wildfires roughly 65 kilometers west of Athens. The two Bell helicopters involved were owned by McDermott Aviation, an Australian company based on the Sunshine Coast that leases firefighting aircraft for use overseas. Following the crash, all Bell helicopters operating in Greece were grounded as a precaution, according to a source from the country’s civil protection ministry. The surviving crew members were reported to have remained conscious after the collision and helped guide rescuers to the crash site; they were admitted to hospital for observation as a precaution. Elsewhere in Greece, fires also threatened homes on Kefalonia and burned near Nea Tenedos in Halkidiki.