“I didn’t trust it completely, because we saw the sky turn orange,” Alice Reumkens tells RTL Nieuws. She and her family are on holiday in Rhodes for two weeks. They decided to pack their bags and in no time came the message they already feared: they had to leave.
“I was able to quickly throw some chargers in the bags,” says Reumkens. This morning she was still sitting on the beach with her family. There they were given water and wet towels. “But now the water is almost gone.”
Big stream
Together with a large group of people they are now walking to the south side of the island. “We walk towards the blue sky. To the left and right of us are now dark clouds of smoke,” says Reumkens. Going back to the hotel is not an option.
“There are no police to be seen anywhere, nothing at all. There are all cars full of luggage,” says Reumkens.
Let’s see what the situation on Rhodes looks like in this video:
In the meantime, according to Reumkens, it remains eerily quiet at the Corendon travel agency, where she has booked. “We asked last night if we should be concerned, but they said no.”
200 Corendon guests
In a response, Corendon informs RTL Nieuws that about 200 Corendon guests are affected by the forest fire on Rhodes. They are evacuated from the affected area. “This is done under the direction of the government. People are taken care of in designated locations, such as sports halls,” says a spokesperson.
“We are currently looking for alternative accommodation for our guests who cannot return to their hotel at the moment. We also offer these guests the option of flying back to the Netherlands today or tomorrow.”
Dutch people who would go to the Greek island today or tomorrow will be approached by Corendon. “We offer them alternative accommodation and if they prefer to rebook their holiday to another destination, that is also possible.”
Evacuaties
Previously, only people in the center of the island, in forested, mountainous and sparsely populated areas, were called to evacuate. The southwest coast, where Reumkens was also with her family, must now also leave. The fire is further fueled by the strong wind.
These include parts of Kiotari and Lardos, about 40 kilometers north of the island’s capital. According to local authorities, tourists are not in danger, but about a thousand people have been evacuated. Greek media report that three hotels on fire have flown.
In mainland Greece, it is feared that the fires will flare up again due to the drought and the heat that is sweeping across the country in waves. It was an average of 36.5 degrees in Greece on Friday, but above 40 degrees in many places. Locally it could be well above 40 degrees on Sunday.
2023-07-22 14:33:24
#Dutch #people #Rhodes #flee #forest #fire #Water
