Fire causes travel chaos for British holidaymakers on Greek island

Dozens of Britons have had their holidays disrupted as a blaze sweeps across the Greek island of Rhodes , with some holidaymakers forced to evacuate from resorts. British tourists described ‘terrifying’ scenes of turmoil as the five-day fire continues to rage, with power cuts causing ‘chaos’ and an absence of information from travel agencies. In previous days the wildfire was 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. Local media reported the fires had reached three hotels, which had already been evacuated, while three coast guard vessels, plus one from the army, were evacuating people from two beaches. Fire Service spokesman Yannis Artopios said on Saturday that more wildfires could break out as temperatures are set to reach 45C on Sunday. Thomas Cook said 40 of its customers were at hotels in Lardos and Kiotari – the areas most affected by the fire. Corinne Watson, 42, who is holidaying with her husband and two sons, told the PA news agency she had only received one automated text message from Tui , telling her they were ‘sorry for any disruptions’. The mother-of-two said: ‘Our hotel has accepted some evacuees and hosted a few while other accommodation was found. ‘Power losses affecting the kitchens has caused chaos but hotel staff are working exceptionally hard to manage the situation – they must be very worried for their island. ‘Hotel staff [are] working flat out under desperate worry.’ However, she said Tui had offered a ‘poor service’ with no information on whether her area was safe or what to do in the event of an evacuation. Ms Watson, a local government worker from Cumbria, added: ‘Today the sky has rarely been blue and we have had the water planes above us frequently collecting from the sea. ‘Getting information is very difficult. ‘Currently we are lucky, in a lovely hotel and hope it stays that way. ‘For others, both tourists and locals, it is awful and terrifying. I hope they bring them under control quickly with limited damage.’ Speaking to the BBC, Simon Wheatley said: ‘We were told by police that we had to evacuate the building because the air was just unbreathable – it had turned bright orange and black above our heads.’ Katie Piercefield-Holmes told the BBC it was ‘really quite terrifying’. A spokesman for Thomas Cook said: ‘We are monitoring closely the wildfires in Rhodes and are in touch with our customers who are on holiday there. ‘Our teams are in regular contact with our holidaymakers on the island currently as well as those about to depart to discuss their options.’ 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 said. Firefighting forces from eight EU countries are either operating or due to arrive soon, Mr Artopios said. Israel, Jordan and Turkey have also sent reinforcements, mostly aerial equipment. Both Tui and the Foreign Office have been approached for comment.