# Two firefighting helicopters collide near Athens as Europe burns 2026-08-08T11:45:32+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Two firefighting helicopters collided midair on Sunday near Porto Germeno, west of Athens, while battling a wind-driven wildfire. Each carried a two-person crew; a search-and-rescue operation was underway. The collision is the latest crisis in a continental wildfire emergency that has killed three firefighters in Greece. France's Gironde megafire, four times the size of Paris, remained contained but still burning after scorching 420 sq km of forest. It forced 224,000 people to flee in what may be the country's largest civilian evacuation outside wartime. Spanish fires have stopped advancing. Scientists from World Weather Attribution found that climate change made the extreme fire-weather at least twice as likely. ## Coverage - thehindu.com - thehindu.com Tags: climate change, Europe, Firefighting, France, Greece, wildfires Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/3-firefighters-die-france-battles-wildfire-four-times-size-of-paris/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/3-firefighters-die-france-battles-wildfire-four-times-size-of-paris/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.