Four Crew Missing After Two Helicopters Collide Over Greece

KATHMANDU. Search and rescue operations are underway for four crew members after two firefighting helicopters collided in the air in Greece. A video has been released showing one helicopter catching fire and crashing to the ground in the Sata region near the capital Athens on Sunday. Preliminary reports suggest the accident may have occurred after the helicopters' rotors collided with each other. Both helicopters were deployed to control the severe wildfires spreading in various parts of Greece. In recent days, over a hundred houses have been destroyed due to wildfires in Greece, and residents have been evacuated from various areas to safe locations. Approximately five hundred firefighters have been deployed to control another wildfire spreading in the Porto Germeno area of the Gulf of Corinth. Additional rescue teams have also arrived in Greece from France and Romania. It is reported that the fire spread to a military exercise area due to strong winds, and old unexploded ordnance became active there. Greece, along with France and Spain, is battling severe wildfires this summer due to abnormal heat and lack of rain. Scientists say that rising temperatures and dryness due to climate change are increasing the risk of such fires. In Spain, thousands of hectares have been affected by wildfires in the last week. Although the fire has been controlled in some places, it continues to reignite. In some parts of France, the wildfire situation has improved slightly. The effects of heat and drought in Europe are also visible in the river and energy sectors. In Hungary, the country's only nuclear power plant has been shut down for the first time in four decades after the water level of the Danube River dropped significantly. In Serbia too, hydropower production has been significantly reduced after the water level of the Danube reached historically low levels.