Wildfires on Rhodes force hundreds of holidaymakers to flee their hotels
Wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes have forced hundreds of holidaymakers to flee their hotels.
Images show the skies above the island full of smoke with the orange hue of the flames clearly visible.
Four locations close to the areas of Kiotari and Lardos in the southeastern part of the island have been evacuated.
Users on social media have been describing the scene, with Paul Karlburgi writing on Twitter: “Currently stranded in #Rhodes escaping the wildfires on foot – left everything at the hotel and fled with towels across our faces.
“My youngest just told me he doesn’t want to die. No news from any authorities. Terrifying situation here.”
Hundreds of tourists have been evacuated from their hotels on the Greek island of Rhodes as firefighters battle wildfires. Pic: rhodes.rodos
Pic: James Hall/Instagram
The flames have reached three hotels, which have also been evacuated, according to local media reports.
Fire Service spokesman Yannis Artopios said more than 200 firefighters and 40 fire engines were operating on the ground, assisted by three planes and five helicopters.
The force includes 31 firefighters from Slovakia, with five fire engines.
Pic: James Hall/Instagram
Three coastguard vessels, plus one from the army, were evacuating people from two beaches on Saturday.
More than 20 private boats were also assisting and the Greek navy was sending a vessel.
Mr Artopios added the residents of four localities were sent SMS messages to evacuate – in two of these areas they were told to move to the northeast and, in two others, to the southwest.
Wildfires have been plaguing Greece for days as a result of the heatwave ongoing across southern Europe.
James Hall, who is holidaying on the island, told Sky News: “It was a bit of madness this morning. We got the government text telling us to evacuate then we dragged our suitcases for two hours in 40C heat.
“After the two-hour walk, we took refuge in a hotel. If we see any fire on a nearby hilltop we’ll have to evacuate again.
“We were meant to be picked up from our hotel at 7am but that seems to have burned down.
“We’ve heard nothing from our airline.
“If you were in a wheelchair the chances of you getting out in a timely manner were pretty much nil.
“There was very little help.”
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Another tourist, David Woodhouse, said fires are spreading and smoke is encompassing much of the island.
Freelance TV producer Daphne Tolis added: “More than 1,000 people evacuated by sea so far on #Rhodes as the #wildfire is raging.
“The coastguard has ordered nearby yachts and private boats to assist evacuation operations by sea.”
While holidaymaker Jon Hughes tweeted: “Jet2 where are you? No help, contact or guidance. Had to walk 4 mile in the heat across dirt tracks in smoke and ash with a 5 year old. No possessions #jet2 #rhodes #lindosimperial.”
A spokesperson from the air line TUI said: “We’re aware of wildfires in an area in the south of Rhodes and our teams in resort are following advice from the local authorities.
“A small number of hotels have been impacted and as a precaution we’re relocating affected customers and providing them with alternative accommodation.
“Flights continue to operate as normal and we will be in contact with customers should their holidays be impacted. Our main priority is always the safety of our customers and we’ll continue to keep a close eye on the situation.”
Easyjet also released a statement saying that the airline was “aware of the wildfires currently affecting Rhodes and its thoughts are with those affected.
“Flights to and from Rhodes are currently operating as normal however we continue to closely monitor the situation and the advice provided by the relevant authorities.
“Whilst our schedule is not affected and will operate as planned, we advise customers travelling to and from Rhodes to check the status of their flights on Flight Tracker on our mobile app or website.”
The blaze in Rhodes was just one of several active across Greece, Mr Artopios said.
The fire northwest of Athens and one near Sparta were subsiding, he said, although the conditions, including temperatures set to reach 45C on Sunday and low humidity (below 15%), mean that the danger is not over and more wildfires might break out.
The Fire Service has designated almost the whole eastern part of the mainland, plus the islands of Evia and Rhodes, as well as large parts of the southwest, as Category 5 – the highest for the risk of fire outbreaks – on Sunday.
A further chunk of the country has been designated Category 4.
There will be a brief respite in the heatwave on Monday, but it will resume on Tuesday and could last until at least Friday, meteorologists have warned.
Firefighting forces from eight European Union countries are either operating or due to arrive soon, Mr Artopios said.
Israel, Jordan and Turkey have also sent reinforcements, mostly in the form of aerial equipment.
The fast-moving developments on Trump’s Ukraine peace deal are dominating the G20 summit in South Africa, as European leaders scramble to put together a counter-proposal to the US-Russia 28-point plan and reinsert Ukraine into these discussions.
European countries are now working up proposals to put to President Trump ahead of his deadline of Thursday to agree a deal.
Ukraine is in a tight spot. It cannot reject Washington outright – it relies on US military support to continue this war – but neither can it accept the terms of a deal that is acutely favourable to Russia, requiring Ukraine to give up territory not even occupied by Moscow and reducing its army.
Overnight, the UK government has reiterated its position that any deal must deliver a “just and lasting peace”.
Ukraine war latest: Kyiv to discuss ending war in talks in Switzerland
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Keir Starmer calls for growth plan at G20
The prime minister, who spoke with E3 allies President Macron of France, Chancellor Merz of Germany and President Zelenskyy of Ukraine on the phone on Friday, is having more conversations today with key partners as they work out how to handle Trump and improve this deal for Ukraine.
One diplomatic source told me allies are being very careful not to criticise Trump or his approach for fear of exacerbating an already delicate situation.
Instead, the prime minister is directing his attacks at Russia.
Read more:
Trump’s 28-point Ukraine peace plan in full
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends a plenary session on the first day of the G20 Leaders’ Summit. Pic: Reuters
“There is only one country around the G20 table that is not calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine and one country that is deploying a barrage of drones and missiles to destroy livelihoods and murder innocent civilians,” he said on Friday evening.
“Time and again, Russia pretends to be serious about peace, but its actions never live up to its words.”
Pic: AP
On the Trump plan, the prime minister said allies are meetin on Saturday “to discuss the current proposal on the table, and in support of Trump’s push for peace, look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”.
Strengthening the plan really means that they want to rebalance it towards Ukraine’s position and make it tougher on Russia.
“Ukraine has been ready to negotiate for months, while Russia has stalled and continued its murderous rampage. That is why we must all work together with both the US and Ukraine, to secure a just and lasting peace once and for all,” said the prime minister.
“We will continue to coordinate closely with Washington and Kyiv to achieve that. However, we cannot simply wait for peace.
“We must strain every sinew to secure it. We must cut off Putin’s finance flows by ending our reliance on Russian gas. It won’t be easy, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Pic: AP
Europeans hadn’t even seen this deal earlier in the week, in a sign that the US is cutting other allies out of negotiations – for now at least.
Starmer and other European leaders want to get to a position where Ukraine and Europe are at least at the table.
There is some discussion about whether European leaders such as Macron and Meloni might travel to Washington to speak to Trump early next week in order to persuade him of the European and Ukrainian perspective, as leaders did last August following the US-Russian summit in Alaska.
But Sky News understands there are no discussions about the PM travelling to Washington next week ahead of the budget.
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