Some 19,000 people have been evacuated from the Greek island of Rhodes as wildfires continued burning for a sixth day on three fronts, Greek authorities said on Sunday.
Package holiday companies TUI and Jet2 have canceled flights to Rhodes. Jet2 said it was canceling five flights due to leave for Rhodes on Sunday. It said it would fly the five planes to Rhodes empty to bring back customers on the island. TUI said it was canceling all its flights to the island until at least Tuesday.
Rhodes travel agent Stelios Kotiadis confirmed to the Associated Press that the evacuation was hasty. “There was panic. … The authorities were overwhelmed,” he said. “There were 80-90 people cramming into 50-seater buses,” he said. He added that 90% of the evacuated tourists are from European countries.
Fire Brigade spokesman Yannis Artopios said that, early Sunday afternoon, 266 firefighters and 49 engines were operating on the ground, together with hundreds of volunteers. Ten firefighting planes, including two from France, two from Turkey and one from Croatia, are operating in the area, as well as eight helicopters.
The weather remains hot in the Mediterranean country on Sunday. Before midday, temperatures had already reached 38 C . Winds were low but are notoriously variable in Rhodes, as in other Greek islands.