Shocking footage shows a firefighting plane cutting down a tree before it crashes and explodes in a fireball in southern Greece.
The accident happened on the island of Evia and was broadcast on state television on Tuesday.
According to Greek officials, the plane crashed into a valley at the height of Karystos, where the fire started on Sunday.
The clip shows the plane battling a fire on the island before disappearing into a canyon. After a while, fireballs appeared.
Officials said there were two passengers on the plane. It was not immediately clear what happened to them, but they were described as ‘missing’.
Footage broadcast on Tuesday showed the plane battling wildfires on the Greek island of Evia (pictured) before it disappeared into a canyon behind a mountain peak.
Seconds later, a fireball shot up. Officials said there were two people on board at the time of the accident
The state broadcaster said the crash happened in the town of Karystos on the island of Evia, 40 miles east of Athens.
The plane was among at least three other planes and about a hundred firefighters battling the blaze in Evia.
The Greek Air Force said the amphibious Canadair CL-215 was on board when it crashed over the island.
The two missing pilots are members of the Greek Air Force, according to Greece’s Defense Ministry, quoted by state TV ERT.
The broadcaster released video of the plane as it crashed and disappeared in a cloud of flames and black smoke.
Moments after dropping water on the fire, the plane was seen clipping a tree, causing it to suddenly turn dangerously close to the ground to the right.
As the aircraft turned into the air for another fly-over, it rapidly lost altitude and was unable to climb over the hill and instead nose dived into the hillside.
Two helicopters have reached the spot to carry out search and rescue operations, the Air Force said. It gave no further details about the fate of the airmen.
Hundreds of firefighters, aided by forces from Turkey and Slovakia, had been battling the blaze on the island of Rhodes since Wednesday and were battling hot, windy conditions.
More urgent flights were due to take holidaymakers home.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday that the coming days would be difficult, adding that the situation would improve after Thursday.
He said, ‘We are all guarding. ‘What the whole planet is facing, especially the Mediterranean which is a climate change hot-spot, there is no magic defense mechanism, if we were to implement it there.’
An assessment by scientists released on Tuesday said human-induced climate change played an ‘overwhelming’ role in extreme heatwaves across North America, southern Europe and China this month.
In Greece, a prosecutor in Rhodes has opened an investigation into the cause of the fire and the authorities’ preparedness and response, state broadcaster ERT reported. It is said that about 10 percent of the island’s land has been burnt.
Moments after dropping water on the fire, the plane was seen clipping a tree, causing it to suddenly turn dangerously close to the ground to the right.
As the aircraft prepares for another fly over, it rapidly loses altitude and is unable to climb over the hill and instead nose dives into the hillside.
Seconds after disappearing from the camera’s view, an explosion is seen from behind the mountain, sending thick black smoke rising into the sky.
Two helicopters have reached the spot to carry out search and rescue operations, the Air Force said. It gave no details about the fate of the airmen. Pictured: Thick black smoke can be seen rising from where the plane crashed earlier today
Much of southern Europe is enduring one of the longest, driest and hottest summers on record, which scientists say is caused by man-made climate change.
Sicily’s Palermo airport was closed today as temperatures hit 47 degrees Celsius on the Italian island.
Meanwhile, fires continue to wreak havoc in Greece where thousands of people have been forced to flee on foot. Fires were also reported in Croatia, France, mainland Italy, Spain, Turkey and Russia.
Lefteris Laudikos, whose family owns a small hotel in the seaside resort town of Kiotari, one of the epicenters of weekend fires, said its 200 guests – mainly from Germany, Britain and Poland – were evacuated in rental cars.
He said his father, cousin and two others were trying to douse the fire using a nearby water tank.
“On Saturday when I saw the wind and there were no planes, I told everyone ‘we’re going to burn today’,” he said.
‘My father saved the hotel. I called her, and she didn’t want to go. He told me, ‘There won’t be any hotels when I leave’.
John Hatzis, owner of three unaffected hotels in Northern Rhodes, said the island needed to welcome tourists.
“We need a superhuman effort to restart tourism now after the superhuman effort to control the fire,” he said.
Rhodes, one of Greece’s largest islands, is one of the top summer destinations, attracting around 1.5 million foreign tourists during the summer months.
About 20,000 people in Rhodes had to leave their homes and hotels over the weekend as the inferno spread and reached coastal resorts southeast of the green island, after burning land, killing animals and damaging buildings.
After 104 people died in a fire in the coastal city east of Athens in 2018, Greece took a more proactive approach to evacuations. But critics say it has not improved the ability to put out fires typical of the summer, although this year’s heat wave has been more intense.
Rhodes’ mayor said on Facebook that the island had faced an “unprecedented ordeal”.
An airplane drops water on a wildfire in the village of Vati on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes, southeast Greece, on Tuesday, July 25.
A Canadair aircraft drops water on a wildfire in the village of Vati, on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes, southeast Greece, Tuesday, July 25.
A military helicopter works as a forest fire burns in the mountains near the village of Vati, on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes, southeast Greece, Tuesday, July 25.
Locals watch a wildfire near the village of Vati just north of the coastal town of Gennadi on the southern part of the Greek island of Rhodes on July 2.
The island of Corfu also caught fire.
Greece has seen very high temperatures in recent weeks and they could exceed 44 Celsius in some areas by Wednesday.
More than 2,000 holidaymakers flew home on Monday and tour operators canceled upcoming trips. TUI has dropped flights to Rhodes from Friday. It said it had 39,000 customers on Rhodes as of Sunday evening.
Tourism contributes to 18% of Greece’s economic output and one in five jobs. On Rhodes and many other Greek islands, the dependence on tourism is even greater.
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