British couple on honeymoon die in helicopter crash on Greek island; pilot additionally killed
A British couple have been killed alongside their pilot when their non-public helicopter crashed on the Greek island of Sifnos on Monday, simply minutes earlier than they have been attributable to land at a heliport.Alexander Cromie and Marie Ebert have been on their honeymoon when the helicopter went down within the Tholos space of Sifnos. Greek police mentioned the couple and the pilot, 55-year-old Giorgos Raikos, died within the crash.The helicopter had flown from Markopoulo, a village southeast of Athens, to Sifnos and was scheduled to land at round 6:15pm native time, in line with Greek media experiences cited by the BBC.A senior police official mentioned that the crash occurred shortly earlier than the scheduled touchdown.Native residents reported listening to what Sifnos deputy mayor Manolis Foundoulakis described as a “weird engine noise” shortly earlier than the helicopter went down. The plane crashed simply metres from the touchdown space, caught fireplace and was largely destroyed.Emergency crews later extinguished the flames and recovered the victims from the wreckage and close by space.The pilot was recognized by Greek media as Giorgos Raikos, a former Hellenic Military veteran who later turned an expert helicopter pilot. In line with experiences cited by Individuals, Raikos had knowledgeable air site visitors management that he was making ready to land shortly earlier than the crash, after which radio contact was reportedly misplaced.The reason for the crash stays unknown. Aviation authorities are inspecting the circumstances, together with flight information, climate situations and the potential of mechanical failure. Reviews mentioned climate situations have been regular on the time, with no sturdy winds.The UK Overseas Workplace mentioned it was working with Greek authorities and was ready to supply assist to the couple’s households. Greek authorities have opened an investigation into the crash.
