- By Siobhan Toman & Rozina Sini
- BBC news
Watch: Tourists gather outside after being kicked out of their hotels
Thousands of people have been evacuated from homes and hotels on the island of Rhodes, according to Greece’s fire brigade.
Private boats have joined forces with Greece’s coast guard to help transport people off the island’s eastern coast.
Greek cruise ships are also said to be heading to the area, which is popular with tourists.
Greece’s deputy fire chief said the fire in Rhodes was the biggest problem they were facing.
Five helicopters and 173 firefighters are working in the area, three hotels in the Kiotari area are said to have been destroyed by fire.
A British woman said she was evacuated from the hotel where she was staying with her sister and daughter, but was now stuck on the beach with hundreds of other people due to the extreme heat.
“There is a small house here and there are a lot of us,” Becky Mulligan told the BBC. “There are children, day in and day out, we’re just here without help, it’s disgusting.”
Simon Wheatley said ash started falling on his pizza while he was eating it.
“The hotel said this is normal and there is no need to worry as they are in contact with the authorities on this matter,” he told the BBC.
His hotel was later moved.
“We saw that the beach bar we were at the day before was on fire. The smoke was so bad. We had to leave two bags of stuff behind.”
Travel company TUI said a few of its hotels had been affected and was moving customers to other accommodation as a precaution.
Greek ships are said to be on their way to Rhodes
Firefighters from Slovakia arrived in Rhodes on Saturday to help local firefighting teams.
“The situation in Rhodes is very difficult and very difficult. Due to the strong wind and the quick change of the fire path, the firefighters had to leave and move,” Slovak Fire and Rescue Services wrote on Facebook.
Some of Slovakia’s rescue team moved to a coastal resort to help refugees, he said.
Greece is facing extreme heat this weekend, with meteorologists warning that temperatures could rise to 45C (113F).
It could be Greece’s hottest July week in 50 years, one of the country’s leading meteorologists has said.
Firefighters continue to battle several wildfires across the country. The area west of Athens is one of the worst affected areas, along with Laconia in the southern Peloponnese and the island of Rhodes.
And officials are warning of a high risk of new fires as the heat continues.
People have been advised to stay at home, and tourist sites – including Athens’ ancient Acropolis – will be closed under extreme heat for the next two days.
Greece – like other European countries – experienced a prolonged period of heat at the beginning of this month.
The latest heat wave comes at a very busy time for tourism in the country.
Are you in the area? Have you been affected by the fire in Rhodes? If it is safe to do so, you can share your experience by sending an email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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