Holiday firms are cancelling flights to Rhodes as a blaze continues to ravage the Greek island.
Jet2 Holidays cancelled all bookings to the island on Sunday and said it would send empty planes to bring stranded Britons home, while Tui said it would cancel all flights and holidays until Tuesday.
Meanwhile, fellow travel firm easyJet confirmed on Twitter that its flights would continue as normal.
The British ambassador to Greece said the Foreign Office had sent a “rapid deployment team” to help UK tourists who were among thousands forced to flee for their lives on Saturday as the wildfire rapidly spread.
Families were evacuated from their hotels at night and left their belongings behind as the huge flames crawled closer, with some having to walk miles to find refuge or wade through water to reach rescue boats near the beach.
The wildfire had been confined to the island’s mountainous centre but, aided by winds, very high temperatures and dry conditions, it spread on Saturday towards the coast on the island’s central-eastern side.
The six-day blaze continued to rage on Sunday after the fire service warned more fires could break out with temperatures set to reach 45C.
Greek authorities said 19,000 people have been evacuated so far, with the Ministry of Climate Change and Civil Protection adding it was “the largest evacuation from a wildfire in the country”.
Police on Rhodes said 16,000 have been evacuated by land and 3,000 by sea from 12 villages and several hotels.
Six people were briefly taken to hospital with respiratory problems and were later released.
Kevin Evans was evacuated twice with his wife and three young children, including a six-month old baby, on Saturday as the fire rapidly spread.
The family is now stranded in Rhodes town without accommodation and “no information from the authorities”.
Mr Evans told the PA news agency: “We’ve got three children with us including a six-month old so getting a bit panicky.
“We were originally in Kiotari in a villa but were moved to Gennadi at about 2pm.
“There were lots of people in Gennadi sent from the hotels – many in just swimsuits having been told to leave everything in the hotel.
“It got very crowded but we managed to get into a hotel in Gennadi with a room for the children and mums while the rest of us slept in the lobby.
“As night fell, we could see the fire on the top of the hills in Kiotari. They said all the hotels were on fire.
“About midnight the fire started moving onto our side of the hill. The alerts were going off again but not to everyone at once with some people telling us to stay put and others receiving messages to evacuate.
“We left at midnight with the fire very big and close. The roads were closed but we drove the long way round the island to get to Rhodes Town.
“We’ve had two hotels cancel on us here so trying to find somewhere for the kids and mums again.”
We are safe for now. The scariest moment in my entire life. After wading into the sea and climbing on a fishing trawler, we are away from danger. I don’t know how they’ll process this when the dust settles, but what brave boys. 😢 💙 Family is everything #rhodes #wildfire pic.twitter.com/YGkcMaHMpg
— Dan Jones (@DanJonesPE) July 22, 2023
Dan Jones, a sports teacher from Torquay, Devon, had to climb onto a fishing trawler with his sons on Saturday night, describing it as “the scariest moment in my entire life”, adding: “What brave boys.”
Ian Wakefield told the Times Radio he spent the night in a school playground in Faliraki after being evacuated from his hotel in Pefki.
He said: “It didn’t really feel real – being in imminent danger of being burned to death.
“Between midnight and around 5am this morning we were going through an evacuation which was pretty chaotic.
“There were a lot of upset people and children who were understandably quite hysterical.
“It was all very confusing – the instructions from the hotel manager were unclear.
“You had to make your own choice in the end. I’ve had to leave quite a lot of luggage in the hotel.”
In an update on Twitter, Jet2Travel said: “The situation in Rhodes continues to evolve quickly and our absolute priority is the health, safety and well-being of customers and colleagues.
“We have cancelled all flights and holidays that are due to depart to Rhodes today.
“We will fly those five aircrafts to Rhodes with no customers onboard, so that we can bring customers back to the UK on their scheduled flight.”
Tui said: “The situation in the Southern part of #Rhodes remains volatile and challenging. Due to this and considering the impact on local communities being affected, TUI has decided to cancel all flights and booked holidays to Rhodes for departures up to and incl. Tue, 25 July.”
British ambassador Matthew Lodge tweeted: “Since the #wildfires situation deteriorated yesterday @ukingreece has been working with the Greek authorities, airlines and tour operators to support UK nationals on #Rhodes. A rapid deployment team from @FCDOGovUK is on its way.”
