Greek Firefighting Plane Crashes Moments After Water Drop
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A Greek firefighting plane crashed seconds after dumping water on a blaze raging on the island of Evia, adding a tragic twist to firefighters’ dramatic battle against the flames engulfing Mediterranean islands.
Footage broadcast by state-run ERT TV showed the Canadair CL-215 aircraft dropping water onto a forest fire and then banking hard right, when its right wing tip struck a tree, causing the water-float device to break off. The aircraft then tilted sideways, lost altitude and plunged into a ravine, where it went up in flames. Several hours after the crash, Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Dendias said that the two pilots had been killed.