Greece fires: Rhodes and Corfu tourists evacuated as Croatia also battles wildfires

Jump to content Sign up to our newsletters Subscribe News Sport Voices Culture Lifestyle Travel Premium Close Plane fighting wildfires in Evia crashes Croatia is battling wildfires as thousands of tourists have fled Rhodes and Corfu amid blazes ravaging Greece. A firefighting plane is dropping water on a mountainside in Župa Dubrovačka in Croatia after a wildfire broke out last night. Almost 100 firefighters are on the scene and several vehicles, according to reports. It comes as 20,000 people had to leave homes and hotels in Rhodes over the weekend as the inferno that began a week ago spread, while over 2,000 holidaymakers returned home by plane on Monday. After the blaze in Rhodes prompted ‘the biggest evacuation’ in Greek history, civil protection authorities warned of ‘extreme risk’ of wildfires on the island of Crete, while around 2,500 people have already been evacuated from Corfu, which has been enduring dozens of blazes. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament on Monday the country was ‘at war’ and said on Tuesday the next days would be difficult, with conditions possibly improving after Thursday. 1690341492 The UK foreign office has updated its guidance for people visiting Greece, telling those travelling to areas affected due to wildfire to make sure they had ‘appropriate insurance’. ‘If you choose to travel, research your destinations and get appropriate travel insurance,’ the foreign office said, adding that the insurance should ‘cover your itinerary, planned activities and expenses in an emergency’. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 26 July 2023 04:18 1690340890 A Greek air force water-dropping plane crashed while diving into a wildfire in southern Greece yesterday, killing both pilots, as authorities battled blazes that have been raging for days across the country. A state ERT TV video showed the bright yellow CL-215 aircraft releasing its load of water on the island of Evia before its wingtip apparently snagged in a tree branch. Moments later it disappeared into a deep fold in the ground from which a fireball erupted. The air force said the pilots, aged 34 and 27, both died in the crash. Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis cancelled a planned visit to Cyprus for today and Greece’s armed forces declared three days of mourning. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 26 July 2023 04:08 1690339500 The Greek islands have been a favourite destination for British holidaymakers for decades but this month has seen out-of-control blazes spark ‘the biggest evacuation’ in its history from Rhodes while Crete , Corfu , Evia and Zante have also suffered devastating infernos. Here’s what The Independent ‘s travel correspondent Simon Calder has had to say about the evolving situation so far. Ninety per cent of Rhodes ‘safe and functioning’ but state of play uncertain looking ahead to August, our correspondent warns Martha Mchardy 26 July 2023 03:45 1690335900 Michael Gove is going to Evia in a week despite Greek authorities evacuating parts of the island. The housing secretary is visiting the island, off the eastern coast of mainland Greece , after it became caught up in the ‘nightmare’ wildfires engulfing the country. Mr Gove told Sky News: ‘I am planning to go to Greece in just over a week’s time.’ He added that he was visiting Evia. Asked whether he was worried about the raging fires, Mr Gove said: ‘No, I am not. ‘I think it’s absolutely right that individuals should be able to go to Greece to enjoy their holidays,’ Mr Gove added. ‘I think it’s absolutely right that individuals should be able to go to Greece to enjoy their holidays,’ Mr Gove said Martha Mchardy 26 July 2023 02:45 1690332300 Arsonists are being blamed for devastating wildfires that have swept through the Greek island of Corfu . Corfu mayor Yorgos Mahimaris claimed on Monday that an arsonist started the fires which have sparked mass evacuations. Mr Mahimaris came to the conclusion after visiting three locations where fires broke out on Mount Pantokratoras. Oliver Pritchard-Jones reports: Desperate holidaymakers fled Greek island on boats to escape the wildfires Martha Mchardy 26 July 2023 01:45 1690328700 Travel on and off the Italian island of Sicily has been disrupted after wildfires fuelled by extreme temperatures broke out. Videos and photos show the fires ravaging the island holiday destination, including two of the main airports at Catania and Palermo . Flames also threatened the ancient archaeological site of Segesta, which had to be closed temporarily to check for any damage. Some 55 separate wildfires have broken out on the island of Sicily, including at Palermo and Catania airports Martha Mchardy 26 July 2023 00:45 1690323322 The extreme weather events witnessed across the globe have been predicted for decades. Climate expert Mike Berners-Lee explains how we got here – and what we should do about it. The extreme weather events witnessed across the globe have been predicted for decades. Climate expert Mike Berners-Lee explains how we got here – and what we should do about it Martha Mchardy 25 July 2023 23:15 1690321554 Palermo airport shut due to raging wildfire Martha Mchardy 25 July 2023 22:45 1690317954 John Rennie, 49, a project manager from Southport, was catching a flight to Manchester with his wife Marie-Claire from Rhodes Airport as he recalled the smoke from the fires blocking out the sun like an eclipse. The couple had travelled to Lindos on Saturday, a day before road access to the village was closed off due to high winds fanning the flames in unpredictable and devastating ways. Despite seeing the thick, noxious smoke already ‘covering the sun’ on Saturday, they said that they were ultimately only affected in a minimal way by power outages and water shortages. Minimal, at least, in comparison with their host at Kremasti, whose family members lived in the area ravaged by the blaze, which tore through two of their homes. ‘He was helping as a volunteer. There seems to have been a lot of community involvement, there seems to be a big community circle on the island helping each other,’ Mr Rennie told The Independent . Andy Gregory in Rhodes 25 July 2023 21:45 1690317155 A mother said people were ‘pushing and shoving’ in the water as they tried to clamber aboard rescue boats as fires raged on Rhodes. Claire Pickett, her husband Golan Lambranzi and their two-year-old daughter Alice were evacuated from their hotel in Rhodes at about 7pm on Saturday night and taken in a truck to a nearby beach. A ‘military boat’ then picked them up and took them to safety. After arriving at Gatwick Airport on Tuesday evening, Ms Pickett, 37, of Sidcup, south-east London, told the PA news agency: ‘We could see the smoke all day coming from the hills but they said if it comes over the hills you may have to go home, and then once it got dark we could see fire on the hill. ‘They knocked on the door and said pack a bag, you need to leave the hotel. No-one really knew what was going on. Everyone was trying to grab bags. It was chaos trying to get on the boats but I think that’s because people were scared. They were saying, ‘Don’t worry, we will take everybody’. By now it was probably 11, 12 at night. ‘And then boats started to turn up but they were just local people, some were tiny boats, some were bigger boats. And then there was army boats. And it was just the case of jump on any boat you can.’ She added: ‘You just want to protect your children but she was good, she was in her pram, she fell asleep. The scariest bit was getting on to the first boat because you are just in the water and people were pushing and shoving, so it was just, we’ve got children, let us on the boat. But once I was on the boat I was fine.’ Ms Pickett said: ‘The locals were amazing, they came out in the night with the boats, they were offering food, drinks to everyone. We got this boat to the north of Rhodes, we didn’t know where we were going. Because we had a child they took us straight on a coach and we ended up in a school on the floor. They (gave us) sleeping bags, nappies, wipes for the babies, the locals were amazing.’ She added: ‘It was close enough that you could see it (the fire). It was smoky, it was hot, hot air blowing. I personally never thought I was going to die, I wasn’t worried about that. I was glad they evacuated us. It was scary, we didn’t know where we were going or what was happening, but I never feared for my life. It wasn’t nice but they did well in what was a chaotic situation.’ Martha Mchardy 25 July 2023 21:32 Rhodes heatwave Greece Italy Corfu Jet2 Tui wildfires Crete Some 20,000 people had to leave homes and hotels in Rhodes over the weekend as the inferno that began a week ago spread Demi Kemp Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in