Overview
- A private Bell-class helicopter crashed near the Tholos helipad on Sifnos shortly after takeoff on Monday evening, killing all three people on board, the Greek Fire Service said.
- Emergency crews from Sifnos and nearby Syros quickly brought the resulting fire under control, recovered three bodies, and reported no damage to homes or other casualties on the ground.
- CCTV footage and eyewitnesses circulated in local media show the aircraft spinning uncontrollably before impact, while one local report said a passenger may have jumped shortly before the crash; those details remain unverified.
- The National Organisation for the Investigation of Air and Railway Accidents and Transport Safety (EODASAAM) has opened an official investigation that will examine the wreckage, maintenance records and crew qualifications.
- Local outlets named the victims as pilot Giorgos Raikos and British newlyweds Alexander Cromie and Marie Ebert, the UK Foreign Office has offered consular support, and the crash follows a separate deadly helicopter collision near Athens earlier this month that has already raised safety concerns over heavy summer flight activity.