Firefighters battled a large wildfire in western Attica through the night into Monday, focusing on two active fronts as authorities investigated a midair collision between two firefighting helicopters that killed two crew members.

The blaze, burning in a mountainous area west of Athens near the town of Megara, remained active around Agios Nektarios and Kandili, where crews worked overnight to contain repeated flare-ups.

Emergency alerts sent to residents’ mobile phones before dawn ordered evacuations from the settlements of Agia Skepi, Kandili and Botsika toward the nearby coastal town of Nea Peramos. Earlier, authorities had instructed residents to leave Loumba, Ano Alepochori, Morfeika and Stanes Morfa and head to Megara.

Firefighters used bulldozers and other heavy machinery overnight to create firebreaks in an effort to slow the flames, while conditions remained particularly difficult in the Loumba area near the town of Vilia.

The wildfire comes a day after two leased Bell firefighting helicopters collided during operations over Psatha, a coastal area in western Attica. A Danish pilot and a Greek aerial operations coordinator aboard one of the aircraft were killed.

Police said Monday they had been assigned to investigate the circumstances and cause of the collision on the orders of a prosecutor. The crash site has been secured while investigators carry out a preliminary inquiry, police said.

Source: Ekathimerini.com