Tourists Flown Home As Greece Continues To Battle Massive Wildfires For A Week
Amid raging wildfires on the Greek islands of Rhodes and Corfu, tourists are being evacuated through rescue flights as authorities try to contain the blaze.
Tourists on the Greek island of Rhodes were flown on Monday to their homes as the country continues to battle ravaging wildfires for nearly a week, reported Reuters. According to officials, the threat of further fires was high in almost every region of the country. Speaking to local broadcaster ERT, as per a BBC report, the island's deputy mayor Konstantinos Taraslias said that the forest fires are still "out of control" after seven days of fighting. Taraslias said that the fires' impact on tourist areas had added to the challenges as it required the authorities to suddenly evacuate thousands of visitors, reported the BBC.
He said that fire tenders had been arriving on Rhodes to help battle the "devastating" situation and added that volunteers and other locals are "doing the best they can" to support people.
The fire that began on Friday has led to the evacuation of nearly 19,000 people over the weekend as flames reached coastal resorts on the island's southeast. Reuters mentioned that a wildfire also forced evacuations from the island of Corfu. Notably, both Rhodes and Corfu are among Greece's top destinations for tourists mainly from Britain and Germany.
As per the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection in Greece, no injuries have been reported so far on the island, BBC reported.
The Ministry also said that the tourists are being evacuated safely from the affected areas of Rhodes - which represent less than 10% of the island's tourist accommodation - and are being redirected to other hotels on the island.
Five helicopters and 173 firefighters were operating in the area to combat the wildfires, with three hotels in the Kiotari area reported to have been damaged by fire, reported BBC. The areas of Laerma, Lardos and Asklipio were also affected.
Private boats have also joined the Greek coastguard in the rescue operations to pick up people from beaches on the east of the island. Greek navy vessels were also reported to be heading to the area, which is popular with tourists, as reported by the BBC.
Spokesperson of the Hellenic Fire Corps, Lt Col Yannis Artopoios, described the fires as the most difficult the service has faced, reported BBC.
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