crashes into the Pierian mountains in Central Macedonia. The exact spot of the crash was discovered 3 days later, because of the bad weather conditions and the mountainous landscape. 70 people are killed. 1997, 20 December: Lockheed Hercules C-130 of the Hellenic Air Force crashes into Pastra Mountain near Tanagra, cause of bad weather conditions, killing 5 people. The military aircraft was due to transfer soldiers from Tanagra to Pieria, in order to participate with the operations for the discovery of the Ukrainian plane which had crashed 3 days earlier. 1999, 17 August: Powerful earthquakes strike the Turkish city of İzmit. Greece is the first foreign country to pledge aid to Turkey. 1999, 7 September: Athens is struck by the most devastating earthquake in Greece of the past 20 years. A total of 145 people die. The Turkish aid is the first to arrive. The two earthquakes initiate the Greek–Turkish earthquake diplomacy. 2000, 26 September: Passenger ferry Express Samina sinks near the island of Paros. 80 of the over 500 passengers are lost at sea. 2001, 4 May: Pope John Paul II visits Athens and makes apologies for the sins of the Crusader attack on Constantinople in 1204. 2001, 11 September: 33 Greek Americans lose their lives in the September 11, 2001 attacks. The St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church is completely buried by the collapse of the South Tower. 2002, December: Murder attempt against Dora Bakoyannis. 2004, 24 April: In a referendum, Greek Cypriots reject the Annan Plan whereas Turkish Cypriots accept it. 2004, 1 May: Cyprus becomes a member of the European Union. 2004, 4 July: Greece wins the UEFA Euro Cup in Portugal 2004, 13–29 August: Athens hosts the 2004 Summer Olympics. 2004, 11 September: The helicopter carrying Patriarch Peter VII of Alexandria along with 16 others (including journalists and three other bishops of the Church of Alexandria) crashes into the Aegean Sea while en route to the monastic community of Mount Athos, arguably after an explosion. None survived. The cause of the crash remains unknown. 2005, 14 August: After fears that it could crash in Athens' center, Helios Airways Flight 522 crashes in Grammatiko, killing all 121 people aboard. This was the deadliest aviation accident in the history of Greece. 2006, 18–20 May: Athens hosts the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. 2006, 7 July: Death of Roger Milliex, great philhellene, academic, author, former Director of the French Institute