A typical early lesson in first aid class is always be cautious when responding to an emergency; you don't want to become the emergency. Two emergency responders in France found out the hard way. A helicopter plunged into a lake on Sunday while collecting water in France. The crew fought a wildfire and were refilling their bucket to respond to another blaze. The two crew members onboard survived the spectacular crash and were transported to a nearby hospital along with an eyewitness.
This helicopter crashed in Brittany on the country's northwestern peninsula. According to Air Med & Rescue, the chopper made 27 water drops on a fire in Beuzec-Cap-Sizun before moving to another fire in Rosporden. While refilling their water bucket in a lake near the small town of 7,580 people, the helicopter descended too quickly and dipped its tail rotor into the water. The splashdown immediately led to the chopper spiraling out of control and slamming into the lake. The crew was able to climb out of the mangled wreck and get to the shore.
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Wildfires Are Devastating Europe This Summer
It's been a record-breaking summer for wildfires across Europe. Over 137 square miles have burned in France, three times higher than the recorded annual average. While the helicopter crash occurred in Brittany, most of the blazes have been in southern France. Wildfires have been far more prolific in neighboring countries. Over 1,344 square miles have been burned in France.
We had our fair share of wildfires on this side of the Atlantic with the blazes that ravaged Los Angeles in January. Amidst the devastation, a tiny bright spot was a 2013 Toyota Tacoma that had survived, albeit slightly melted. The truck's owner told Jalopnik that underneath the hood everything behind that radiator made it through intact. The pickup wasn't the only vehicle to garner attention during the wildfires. Firefighters utilized a 93,000-pound bulldozer to clear brush from the fire's path and move abandoned cars out of the way of emergency vehicles.
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