Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his "deepest sorrow" for the midair collision of two leased firefighting helicopters over Psatha. The line is the state's first public response to Sunday's crash. [1]

"I express my deepest sorrow for the tragic accident," he said. "The loss of the Greek coordinator and the Danish pilot while they were operating in the major fire at Porto Germeno fills us all with grief." He offered condolences to the families. [2]

He also said there are moments when weather exceeds planning and operational capability, and called the days extremely difficult for the country. He pledged support for households that lost homes. [1]

The helicopters had taken off from Elefsina. One crew, a Greek and a Dane, died. The second crew, a Greek and a Briton, survived. The collision came days after three firefighters died on Crete and in the Peloponnese. [2]

A condolence note is not an accident report. The paper records the sorrow and the staffing fact it reveals. Greece is fighting megafires with mixed international crews in turbulence that had already grounded water drops.

Mitsotakis visited the civil-protection operations center before the statement. Grief and a situation room are the same day's work. The investigation into why two Bell airframes met at low altitude has not yet spoken.

-- DARA OSEI, London