Two injured in Greek firefighting helicopter crash in Aegean Sea

Greek authorities announced that a firefighting helicopter that was participating in extinguishing a fire on the island of Samos crashed Wednesday in the Aegean Sea, seriously injuring two crew members, while the remaining two were recovered safely.
The Greek coast guard said in a statement that “all four crew members were rescued,” noting that “two of them are safe and the remaining two are unconscious.”
The coast guard stated that the helicopter’s commander, a Romanian, was the first to be rescued, and he got out of the sea unharmed on Wednesday afternoon.
Later, two other crew members, a Romanian and a Moldavian, were recovered, both of whom were found unconscious, and were taken to hospital in a “critical” condition.
As for the fourth member of the crew, a Greek, he was initially considered missing, but was soon found by the Coast Guard on Wednesday evening, unharmed, near the island’s shore.
Three coast guard patrol boats and two other ships were involved in the rescue operation, according to the coast guard of this island in the northeastern Aegean.
“The helicopter was taking part in fighting a forest fire in Samos” when it plunged into the sea, a Greek firefighting official told AFP.