Two Italian Firefighters Killed While Combatting Wildfire

A wildfire near the ancient city of Delphi, Greece. Fires raged throughout the continent in what was one of the hottest European summers on record. (Source: Joshua Anderson)

A plane crash near Linguaglossa, a small town in Sicily along the slopes of Mount Etna, left two members of Italy’s National Civil Defense dead on October 27. Firefighters were dispatched to extinguish a vegetation-based fire close to the base of the mountain, which is an extremely active volcano. Local officials believe the plane first collided with the mountain ridge and then crashed into the ground, after which it burst into flames. The incident followed a summer of devastating wildfires and record-high temperatures, both in Italy and Europe at-large. 

Following the crash, reactions poured in from local authorities. Anna Maria Bernini, the current Minister of University and Research, said in a comment, “I hear with deep emotion the tragic news of the plane crash that occurred on the slopes of Etna in Sicily.” An investigation focusing on how the plane fell to the ground and the role of wind will be carried out by the fire brigade, according to spokesperson Luca Cari. Unlike most plane crashes, this accident was recorded in its entirety by witnesses and later posted to Twitter, where it garnered significant attention. 

Earlier this summer, NBC News reported that residents and tourists, including fashion designer Giorgia Armani, were forced to flee Sicily as wildfires sprung up across the region. Sicily, however, was not alone in its struggle to contain the rapid spread of wildfires. Countries across Europe, and especially those in the Mediterranean, saw record-high temperatures this summer which brought devastating consequences. In September, the European Union (EU) announced that 53,000 excess deaths occurred in the month of July as a result of the severe and atypical heatwave. French officials told Le Monde that they estimate the death toll to be 11,000 in France alone. Temperatures hovered around 104°F to 109°F in much of the Mediterranean, including Italy, and a near-record high for all of Europe was measured in Portugal at 116.6°F. In late summer, Sky News released an article that claimed half of European countries were experiencing drought-like conditions as a result of the excessive heat.
Over the past decade, unprecedented weather events as a result of climate change have become common. Last summer was no exception. Research from Copernicus, the EU’s Earth observation program, revealed that Europe’s summer wildfire emissions were the highest they had been in fifteen years. Data from the EU projects that Europe is set for record wildfire land loss in 2022. As of August, nearly 660,000 hectares of land—roughly the size of the state of Delaware—had already been destroyed by wildfires throughout Europe, showcasing the extensive damage caused by climate change-induced catastrophic weather events.