A young British couple and their pilot were killed on Monday in a helicopter crash on the Greek island of Sifnos. The victims have been identified as Alexander Cromie and Marie Ebert, who were reportedly on their honeymoon at the time of the incident, according to the newspaper Kathimerini.
The private aircraft went down just metres from a landing pad shortly before its scheduled arrival time of 18:15 local time (16:15 GMT). The pilot of the helicopter was a Greek national.
Manolis Foundoulakis, the Deputy Mayor of Sifnos, arrived at the scene shortly after the crash and told the local news outlet Newsit that there was almost "nothing left" of the aircraft. Local residents reported hearing a "bizarre engine noise coming from the aircraft" as it approached the landing site. According to the Deputy Mayor, two of the victims were recovered from the wreckage, while the third was found a short distance away.
Emergency services and local residents worked at the scene to combat a blaze that ignited following the impact. Firefighters successfully extinguished the flames by Monday evening. Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the crash. The UK Foreign Office, Greek authorities, and the aviation company involved have been contacted for comment.
Images showed a large plume of smoke at the crash site
A senior police official told The Times that the crash came just before the helicopter's scheduled landing time of 18:15 local time (16:15 GMT).
