Elefsina: Firefighting Helicopter Forced to Ditch – Pilots Safe

An alert was issued in Elefsina after a firefighting helicopter was forced to ditch. The helicopter was involved in extinguishing a fire in Aspropyrgos and crashed during water collection.

The Erickson-type helicopter made a forced landing in the bay of Elefsina. The causes of the ditching remain unknown.

All three crew members are safe and were located by a Coast Guard vessel. According to unconfirmed reports, two are American and one is Greek. An ambulance from EKAV picked up the crew members and transported them to Attikon Hospital for precautionary reasons.

Apostolos Damkalis, the deputy at the EKAV Press Office, stated that the crew members are in good condition and were swimming to shore.

The fire in Aspropyrgos is ongoing, but with a slightly improved picture. 38 firefighters, 1 ground team, 17 vehicles, 2 aircraft and 2 helicopters are operating at the scene.

According to the mayor of Aspropyrgos, Ilias Ioannis, the fire is burning dry grass and no houses are threatened.