Cheltenham family flees Rhodes wildfires as thousands of British tourists left in limbo

A family from Cheltenham had to ditch their luggage after being told by their Rhodes hotel to evacuate immediately as a series of wildfires wreak havoc across the island. Thousands of tourists have been left in limbo as Greece’s fire service warns the situation could become even worse in the days ahead.

A severe heatwave has plagued southern and eastern parts of Europe for weeks and on Tuesday, wildfires erupted in the mountainous centre of the island. The blazes had been confined to that region, but aided by strong winds and dry land, fires began to spread on Saturday (July 22) towards the coast on the island’s central-eastern side.

Both tourists and residents have been evacuated, with some reports suggesting 19,000 people have fled their homes and accommodation by land and sea. Simon Wheatley was one of thousands of British tourists forced to flee his hotel with his pregnant fiancé and three-year-old son.

Read more: Airlines update holidaymakers on Rhodes fire evacuations

According to the BBC, Simon and his family are still searching for an alternative place to stay for a few nights till their return flight home. “I haven’t found a hotel for this evening,” he told the publication, explaining they needed a place to stay until Tuesday.

He said loudspeakers in the hotel said there was to be an “immediate evacuation” and warned people to only take the essentials. Simon’s family packed all they could into one suitcase, leaving two suitcases behind.

Simon told the BBC said his family were “one of the lucky ones” because they had a hire car, while others at the hotel were forced to wait for shuttle buses or taxis..

“People were there with wet t-shirts over their mouth trying to breathe more effectively because the air by then was unbearable. It was like a bad bonfire in November, you could not handle the smoke at all,” he said.

Fires have continued today in the region, and the Greek fire service has warned things could get worse as temperatures soar to a predicted 45C, which could prompt more fires to break out. Police on Rhodes have estimated 16,000 people have been evacuated over land and 3,000 by sea from 12 villages and a number of hotels.

Several airlines have said they will be cancelling all trips to the island for several days while the fires are active. In an update on Twitter, Jet2Travel said: “The situation in Rhodes continues to evolve quickly and our absolute priority is the health, safety and well-being of customers and colleagues.

“Due to these extraordinary circumstances, we have cancelled all flights and holidays that are due to depart to Rhodes up to and including Sunday July 30.

“We will fly those aircrafts to Rhodes with no customers onboard, so that we can bring customers back to the UK on their scheduled flight.”

Tui said: “The situation in the Southern part of #Rhodes remains volatile and challenging. Due to this and considering the impact on local communities being affected, TUI has decided to cancel all flights and booked holidays to Rhodes for departures up to and incl. Tue, 25 July.”

British ambassador Matthew Lodge tweeted: “Since the #wildfires situation deteriorated yesterday @ukingreece has been working with the Greek authorities, airlines and tour operators to support UK nationals on #Rhodes. A rapid deployment team from @FCDOGovUK is on its way.”