Fires rage in Greece as military mourns water-dropping plane pilots killed in crash

A Canadair firefighting airplane sprays water on a fire in Gennadi, on the southern part of the Greek island of Rhodes, on July 25, 2023. © Spyros Bakalis, AFP

A Greek air force water-dropping plane crashed while diving into a wildfire in southern Greece on Tuesday, killing both pilots, as authorities battled blazes that have been raging for days across the country amid a return of heat wave temperatures.

Summer wildfires blamed on climate change have also struck other Mediterranean countries, leaving at least 34 people dead in Algeria in recent days and two people dead in southern Italy on Tuesday.