1. Witnesses reported seeing the yellow Canadair CL 415 «water bomber» swoop over the fire near the village of Dileso and then fail to climb quickly enough to avoid crashing into the mountainside. «Our thoughts are with all those people who, for the last few weeks, have been battling hundreds of fires throughout Greece,» said Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis while on an official visit to Bosnia–Herzegovina. «I am sure I convey the feelings of all Greeks when I say a big thank you to them for all they are risking and sacrificing to protect the wealth of our forests.» The crews of firefighting planes have been stretched this summer due to the large number of forest fires.