A helicopter taking part in extinguishing a forest fire crashed in the Aegean Sea near the Greek island of Samos.
Report informs via foreign media that the accident occurred when the helicopter was taking on sea water. According to preliminary data, strong winds became the cause of the crash.
There were four people on board: two citizens of Moldova, citizens of Romania and Greece. Greek authorities said two people on board were killed - the pilot, a Romanian citizen, and a Greek citizen.
One of the citizens of Moldova was rescued at sea shortly after the accident, he stayed in the water for 35 minutes. The second was found a few hours later, that the sea currents carried him to the shore of one of the small islands.
On Wednesday, 27 firefighters, four water drop planes and three helicopters were dispatched to fight the fire in Samos.