Greece: Firefighting plane crashes, 2 dead
The Associated PressPublished: July 23, 2007

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ATHENS, Greece: A firefighting plane crashed in southern Greece, killing both crew members, authorities said Monday.

The Canadair tanker crashed into a hillside amid thick clouds of smoke on the island of Evia, outside the resort of Stira, the Fire Service said. A blaze near the resort threatened homes and forced the evacuation of several hundred residents.

On July 11, three firefighters were killed while battling a forest fire on the island of Crete. Two people were also trapped in a fire in central Greece and found dead on July 5.

More than 2,000 fires have broken out in Greece since June, following successive heat waves.

Temperatures reached 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 Fahrenheit) in parts of the country Monday, and were forecast to rise to 44 Celsius (111.2 Fahrenheit) Tuesday.

RIP to the heros :angry: :( Every year is the same... We have so much arson every year, and we lose so much nature and soil from the fires... its tragic. I would like to know how much forest we have lost in the last 30 years. If this is arson, I hope they hang the bastards...

On the Islands in the army, when you don't have watch duty, you have fire watch duty. Very proactive with patrols going out all over the forests with radios and shovels ready for rapid responce. It has brought very good results... but we have not the manpower to this everywhere...