A British couple on their honeymoon and their pilot have died after their helicopter crashed on a Greek island. The private air taxi crashed into a field and burst into flames after reportedly experiencing a mechanical failure.
Crash Details
A huge inferno broke out as the chopper went down, with a fireball engulfing the aircraft’s wreckage and scattered debris as two firefighters and one fire engine raced to the site to tackle the flames. Footage captured by nearby CCTV showed a helicopter spinning as it lost altitude, before smashing into the ground, while local media broadcasts showed smoke billowing from the site at around 6pm local time.
The crash occurred in an inhabited area, but it is understood that no homes were hit. Police have named the couple as Alexander Cromie and Marie Ebert, and the Greek pilot as Giorgos Raikos. The pair, believed to have been in their early 30s and living in London, were reportedly on their honeymoon at the time of the smash, while the pilot is said to have been a retired Greek Air Force officer.
Investigation Underway
Local media reported that the aircraft, believed to be a Bell 206 helicopter, was about to land in the Tholos area. A senior police officer in the area told The Sun: “There is a good chance the helicopter crashed because of some fault. That is what we are investigating. It was very close to the heliport and at some point witnesses reported it making a strange sound.”
Manolis Fountoulakis, the deputy mayor of Sifnos, said: “It experienced mechanical failure in the air – residents say it made a loud, strange noise, like military aircraft.” The Greek fire service said the crash triggered an alarm heard across the island.
Official Response
Greek aviation authorities have opened an inquiry into the crash, examining flight records, weather conditions, and potential mechanical failure to determine what caused the aircraft to go down, according to local reports. The Foreign Office said it was in contact with the authorities in Greece and was ready to provide assistance to the victims’ families.
Sifnos is a Greek island in the Cyclades island group, known for its sandy beaches and the Chrysopigi Monastery. It receives regular private helicopter traffic when tourists use flights to reach the mainland. Earlier this month, a British pilot survived following a mid-air collision with another helicopter while fighting wildfires in Greece. Andrew Hutchinson, 48, survived after landing his vehicle without any rotors, while two others were killed in the crash.
