ATHENS, August 27 (RIA Novosti) - A firefighting aircraft crashed on Thursday near the Greek island of Kefalonia in the Ionian Sea, killing the pilot, the country's fire service told RIA Novosti.
The aircraft crashed nine minutes after taking off from the island and was heading to fight a wildfire.
"The young man fell in the line of duty while fighting the fire," Greek President Karolos Papoulias said. Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis also expressed his condolences over the pilot's death.
Forest fires near the Greek capital of Athens were brought under control on Wednesday.
France, Italy, Cyprus and Russia have sent firefighting airplanes and helicopters to Greece.
Five helicopters are currently fighting a fire to the northwest of Athens, which is threatening forests on the coast of the Corinthian Gulf. Four airplanes are also in firefighting action over the island of Euboea in the Aegean Sea, and one more over the island of Zante in the Ionian Sea.
In 2007, fires that raged for 10 days on Greece's Peloponnese Peninsula claimed 65 lives.
