Two confirmed dead in fireball plane crash while battling wildfires in Greece

Footage shown on Greek TV showed the moment the plane flew over the forest before slowly falling to the ground and bursting into flames as the country continues to battle fires amid heat wave

A plane fighting the Euboea fire crashes (

Image: EPT News)

Two people have died in a plane crash that saw a plane crash and burst into flames while battling Greek forest fires on the island of Evia.

The footage managed to capture the moment the plane crashed near Platanistos and Karystos, two villages in Euboea. An emergency response helicopter is en route to the crash site to assess the situation.

The Greek government said in a statement: "The loss of life of air force officers and firefighting aircraft operators, in the line of duty and while trying to protect the lives and property of citizens, as well as the environment of our country, is deeply saddening.

"Our hearts go out to their families and colleagues, to whom we send our deepest condolences."

The terrifying clip appears to show a small plane crashing into a tree as it hurtles towards the ground. Just before it bursts into a fireball on the hill, the pilot appears to attempt to pull the plane to safety.

Smoke rises from the crash site

According to initial reports, two people were on board at the time. The aircraft is believed to belong to the Greek Air Force's 355th Tactical Transport Squadron.

This comes as a third successive heatwave grips Greece, pushing temperatures to over 40°C (104F) in parts of the country today.

Last night evacuations were carried out to get people to safety after the fires raged out of control for days.

The latest evacuation orders were issued on the islands of Corfu and Euboea, while a fire on the island of Rhodes continued to move inland, burning mountainous forest areas , including part of a nature reserve.

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