Around seventy Belgians on holiday in Rhodes had to evacuate from their hotels following the huge forest fires devastating the Greek island, the travel and tourism company TUI spokesperson Piet Demeyere confirmed on Saturday night.
The authorities in Rhodes evacuated several hotels on Saturday, mainly in the coastal villages of Kiotari and Lardos. In the surrounding area, firefighters are finding it extremely difficult to combat the forest fires, which are still gaining in intensity due to particularly strong gusts of wind.
A number of Belgian tourists were also forced to leave their holiday resorts in a hurry. According to TUI, there are around seventy in the vicinity of Kiotari, which is "less than five per cent" of the total number of Belgians currently on holiday in Rhodes through its services.
According to Piet Demeyere, the Belgians tourists have been taken care of by the local authorities although uncertainty about what will happen next remains. "For the moment, the hotels are not in any great danger. This is a precautionary measure. Later in the evening, there should be more clarity: is a return to the hotels possible or is another solution necessary?"
In the event that TUI travellers are unable to return to their rooms, the agency will contact them to seek an alternative or to book them a seat on a flight to Belgium.
Evacuations in Rhodes on Saturday. Credit: Belga
At this time, TUI is organising daily flights from Brussels to Rhodes. Five holidaymakers with a planned stay in the problematic region are scheduled on Sunday’s route. They have been offered the option of departing to another part of Rhodes or changing their journey free of charge.
Travel operator Corendon reported to Dutch news agency ANP that around 200 of its customers were affected by the evacuations and had been transferred to safety by the Greek government. They are mainly Dutch, but also Belgian and Danish. "They have the choice of opting for alternative accommodation or flying back home," commented a spokesperson.
Thousands evacuated across island
Some 2,000 people have been evacuated by boat from the Greek island of Rhodes. All the archaeological sites will remain closed during the hottest hours, including the famous Acropolis in Athens, with temperatures expected to exceed 44°C throughout the weekend.
Credit: Belga
In Rhodes, a popular tourist destination where a forest fire has been out of control for 5 days in the east of the island around Laermon and Lardos, around 2,000 people have been evacuated by boat and some 30,000 others have been sheltered in gymnasiums, schools or conference centres for the night.
"This is an unprecedented situation," Panagiotis Dimelis, head of the Archangelos village council, told Skai TV.
In the evening, fire brigade spokesman Yannis Artopios told ERT TV that new evacuation orders had been issued for the seaside towns of Gennadi and Kiotari. A boat owner explained on Skai TV that he had received "orders from the port authorities to return to Gennadi for further evacuations. There are a lot of people on the beach, more than 500".
When the alert was given in the early afternoon, many tourists fled the heat on the beach with their suitcases and children. Some missed their return flights because the roads were cut off by the flames, according to posts on social networks.
In the interior of the island, the fire spread to the village of Laerma, destroying houses and a church, according to ERT TV and the Greek news agency ANA.
Tour operator TUI said on Sunday that it has cancelled all flights to Rhodes until Tuesday 25 July. A suitable solution will be sought on Sunday for the 70 or so Belgians who had to be evacuated on Saturday.
