The Greeks mourn, the State stands with respect on the side of the families of the two heroes, notes the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakisin a statement, from the National Coordination Center for Operations and Crisis Management for the loss of the pilots of the CL-215 firefighting aircraft.

The Prime Minister’s full statement follows:

We Greeks mourn, today, the tragic death of our pilots Christos Moulas and Pericles Stefanidis in Evia. They gave their lives, saving lives. Proving how risky their daily firefighting missions are. But also how great is the self-sacrifice of the frontline fighters.

The State respectfully stands by the families of the two heroes. They are two children, two brothers of all of us. Words are poor to describe the national mourning for their loss. So, we grit our teeth and turn our silence into strength. In their memory, we continue the war against the destructive forces of nature.