Wildfires force hundreds of British vacationers to flee Greece’s Rhodes island on forced four-mile march in 95-degree heat, flooding complaints against holiday companies
Out of control forces hundreds of tourists to evacuate Rhodes resort Wildfires ravage the Greek island of Rhodes, turning the sky orange and filling the air with pungent smoke.
Fires continued on the island for a fifth day, and authorities ordered the evacuation of four locations, including two seaside resorts.
The fires, which so far have been confined to the island’s mountainous heart, spread toward the island’s eastern coast on Saturday, boosted by winds, extremely high temperatures and dry conditions.
Local media reported that the fire had reached three hotels and had been evacuated.
Tourists evacuated from the hotel posted gruesome images on social media, claiming no assistance from travel agencies.
“Currently stranded in Rhodes trying to escape bushfires on foot. Left everything in hotel, towel on face and fled,” wrote Twitter user Paul Calberghi.
“My youngest son said he didn’t want to die. No news from the authorities. It’s a horrible situation here.”
A fire engine sprays water to extinguish a forest fire in Kiotari village, Rhodes Island
Wildfire erupts on beach near Lindos, Rhodes
Tourists line up to evacuate Lindos, Rhodes island, Greece
Twitter user John Hughes captured a video of the chaotic scene as wildfires raged on the island.
Tourists evacuate in the backseat of an outdoor truck after wildfires break out on the Greek island of Rhodes
Hundreds of tourists forced to walk miles to safety on the Greek island of Rhodes
Three Coast Guard ships led more than 20 ships in an emergency evacuation operation to rescue the people of Rhodes.
Vacationers board boats as Rhodes beaches are enveloped in smoke from nearby wildfires
Twitter user Paul Calburgi reported that as he left the hotel with his children, his youngest son told him he didn’t want to die.
John Hughes detailed his evacuation with his children, claiming little assistance was provided by the travel company Jet2.
He posted on Twitter, “Jet 2, where are you?” No help, no contact, no guidance. I had to walk 4 miles on dirt roads in smoke and ash with my 5 year old in the heat. I don’t own any. #jet2 #rhodes #lindos empire’
User Volkaholic said there were scenes of “complete chaos”, such as people going out without their belongings.
“Hundreds of tourists and locals are fleeing through roads to escape the uncontrolled fires raging on the island,” they said.
Fire and Disaster Management spokesman Yannis Altopios said residents in four areas were sent SMS messages on Saturday afternoon urging them to evacuate, and two were told to move northeast and two others to move southwest.
Altopios said more than 200 firefighters and 40 fire trucks were on the ground with the support of three planes and five helicopters.
The force includes 31 firefighters from Slovakia and is equipped with five fire trucks.
The main front of the fire is a triangle, with two of its vertices near the sea and one on a mountain.
The fires, which were confined to the island’s mountainous heart, spread towards the Rhodes coastline on Saturday, boosted by winds, extremely high temperatures and dry conditions.
The fires have been going on for five days, and officials ordered evacuations on Saturday.
An empty beach is filmed as smoke rises from wildfires near Lindos
People try to extinguish a wildfire burning near Lindos, Rhodes
Tourists were evacuated by boat near the village of Kiotari on the Greek island of Rhodes on Saturday.
Hundreds of tourists forced to evacuate Rhodes as wildfires continue to wreak havoc on Greek island after five days
Families enjoying their summer vacation had to rush to pack as evacuation took place on the island of Rhodes, which was ravaged by wildfires.
Small fishing boats were also deployed to keep as many tourists off the island as possible as the island burned in scorching temperatures.
On a map, each side of the triangle appears to be over 6 miles long.
Three Coast Guard ships and one Army ship were evacuating people from two beaches.
Twenty civilian boats assisted, and the Greek navy also sent ships.
Altopios said the Rhodes fire was the most dangerous of several blazes across Greece.
He said wildfires in northwestern Athens and near Sparta were abating but temperatures expected to reach 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Celsius) on Sunday and conditions such as low humidity (below 15 percent) meant the danger was not over yet and more wildfires could erupt.
The fire department classified most of the eastern part of the mainland, the islands of Evia and Rhodes, and large swathes of the southwest as Category 5 fires on Sunday.
Meteorologists say the heat wave will briefly take a break on Monday, but heatwaves will resume on Tuesday and could last at least until Friday.
Altopios said firefighters from eight EU countries were either active or expected to arrive soon.
Israel, Jordan and Turkey also sent reinforcements, including air equipment.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12326987/Wildfires-force-hundreds-British-holiday-makers-evacuate-four-mile-forced-march-Greek-island-Rhodes-95F-heat-prompting-flood-complaints-holiday-companies.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 Wildfires force hundreds of British vacationers to flee Greece’s Rhodes island on forced four-mile march in 95-degree heat, flooding complaints against holiday companies
