07/22/2023 – 18:02
Ships have been dispatched to rescue tourists and locals stranded in Greece’s popular tourist destination. High temperatures, drought and winds contributed to the spread of the fire. Thousands of people were evacuated this Saturday (22/07) from homes and hotels on the Greek island of Rhodes, a popular tourist destination, which has been affected for five days by a huge forest fire.
Three coastguard vessels, an army lifeboat and 30 private sailboats helped evacuate at least 2,000 people, including tourists, fire brigade spokesman Yannis Artopios said.
He said all visitors were safely evacuated from hotels and rented houses in Rhodes.
On Saturday, authorities said wildfires had flared out of control earlier in the day near the village of Laerma.
“It’s the toughest fire we have to fight,” the fire department said. Two villas and several hotels were evacuated due to smoke from Laerma village.
“The smoke formation is so strong that you can hardly breathe,” Konstantinos Traraslias, deputy mayor of Rhodes, told the Skai news channel from Athens.
Planes and helicopters sent to fight fire
Despite receiving reinforcements, including planes equipped to dump water on fires, firefighters have struggled to control the flames.
More than 200 firefighters and 40 fire engines were operating at the scene, supported by three planes and five helicopters, the fire department spokesman said.
The team also includes reinforcements from Slovakia. There are reports that Israel, Jordan and Türkiye have also sent reinforcements.
Previously, the fire was confined to the mountainous center of the island, but with the help of winds, very high temperatures and dry conditions, it has spread towards the east coast.
The fire department warned of the high risk of new fires this Sunday in Rhodes, but also on the island of Evia and in the eastern part of the Greek mainland.
While weather experts forecast a brief lull in the heat wave on Monday, they warned that the heat wave would resume on Tuesday and could last at least until next Friday.
bl (AP, Reuters, dpa)
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