A British couple on their honeymoon and their Greek pilot died when their private helicopter crashed on the island of Sifnos, Greece, on Monday afternoon, just metres from the landing pad. The victims have been identified as Alexander Cromie and Marie Ebert, who were on their honeymoon, and their pilot, a Greek national, according to Greek newspaper Kathimerini.
Crash Details Emerge
The helicopter went down within metres of its intended landing pad, having departed from the village of Markopoulo, near Athens, bound for the popular Aegean holiday island, as reported by the BBC. A senior police official told The Times that the crash happened shortly before the scheduled landing time of 18:15 local time (16:15 GMT).
Sifnos Deputy Mayor Manolis Foundoulakis arrived at the scene shortly after the accident. Speaking to local news site Newsit, he said there was almost "nothing left" of the aircraft. He added that residents living close to the landing pad had heard what they described as a "bizarre engine noise coming from the aircraft" just before it came down.
Recovery and Response
Foundoulakis said two of the three victims were recovered from the wreckage, while the third was found a short distance away. Emergency services personnel and locals worked alongside firefighters to battle a blaze that broke out at the site following the impact. The flames were fully extinguished by Monday evening.
Investigation Launched
Greek authorities have launched an investigation to establish what caused the helicopter to go down. The BBC said it had reached out to the UK Foreign Office, the Greek authorities, and the aviation company involved, seeking comment.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a small tourist aircraft crashed over Peru's famous Nazca Lines on Saturday, August 1, 2026, killing all 13 people on board, according to Peruvian officials and local news reports. That plane, a Cessna Caravan C-208 operated by local airline Aerodiana, was on a sightseeing flight over the Nazca Lines when it went down at around 13:00 local time (19:00 BST) in the Pueblo Viejo region.
