The island of Rhodes is on fire, a critical situation for residents and for the many tourists who have chosen the Greek destination for their holidays. The fires that have been ravaging the island for days are now out of control: at least 30,000 people, many tourists, who had to leave their homes and hotels to escape, have been transferred by boat to the coast guard on nearby islands. The work of firefighters who have been trying to tame the flames for days, fueled by high temperatures and strong winds, has not ceased. Five helicopters, two from the Air Force, and three planes began to fall, while one aircraft from the Czech Republic firefighters and two from Turkey are expected to arrive during the day.
“This is the biggest fire evacuation ever carried out in Greece”, said Konstantia Dimoglidou, spokesman for the Greek police, stressing that fortunately “everything went well. Everyone, especially the tourists, followed what we asked”. Meanwhile, the German group Tui announced the suspension of its tourist flights to the Greek island: “Until Tuesday, the German group will stop bringing new tourists” to the island, said spokeswoman Linda Jonczyk, adding that empty planes continue to arrive to help evacuate the thousands of affected tourists.
The Foreign Ministry’s crisis unit is monitoring the situation with the Italian embassy in Athens and local authorities. “For assistance or complaints, contact +390636225 also by SMS and write to [email protected]”, reads a tweet from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Meanwhile, there is concern for a group of Italians. “Help and assist a family from Trani fleeing the flames in Rhodes”, is the content of the PEC sent by the mayor of the capital of the Sixth province of Puglia, Amedeo Bottaro, to the crisis unit to help a family, with an 8-year-old child, blocked by the flames.
Source: IL Tempo
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.