Raging wildfires force hundreds of holidaymakers to flee hotels on Rhodes

Around 1,000 were evacuated from beaches close to the resorts of Kiotari and Lardos (Pictures: AP/AFP)

Hundreds of holidaymakers have been forced to flee their hotels as out-of-control wildfires continue to scorch the Greek island of Rhodes.

Dozens of private boats helped the coastguard evacuate around 2,000 people from beaches close to the resorts of Kiotari and Lardos in the south east on Saturday.

Tourists described chaos on social media, with Paul Karlburgi writing: ‘Currently stranded in Rhodes escaping the wildfires on foot – left everything at the hotel and fled with towels across our faces.

‘My youngest just told me he doesn’t want to die. No news from any authorities. Terrifying situation here.’

Nikita Bassi added on Twitter: ‘Arrived in Rhodes this morning to be told that wild fires have spread throughout and our hotel has been evacuated.

‘No hotels anywhere for us to go and now looking for a flight home as news says the fires are getting worse around Greece. Help. Crying. Throwing up.’

Smoke rises from a wildfire on the island of Rhodes (Picture: Reuters)

Greek television showed long queues of tourists dragging their luggage on foot, while smoke could be seen billowing in the background.

‘We had set up firebreaks around the village of Laerma last night, but a 180-degree change of the winds this morning helped the fire grow much bigger across many kilometres…reaching a tourist area,’ Konstantinos Taraslias, a deputy mayor of Rhodes, told Open TV.

Those evacuated are being housed at an indoor stadium and at hotels on the island, he said.

The coastguard said three passenger ferries were also committed to host tourists during the night.

Firefighters, backed by air water bombers and reinforcements from Slovakia, have struggled to contain new outbreaks of the wildfire, which has burned for days aided by strong winds.

Smoke billows from a burnt hotel complex during a wildfire (Picture: AFP via Getty)

Tourists are evacuated near Lindos, on the island of Rhodes (Picture: Reuters)

Dozens of private boats helped the coastguard ferry tourists to safety (Picture: Reuters)

Fires have raged for five days (Picture: AP)

The blaze, which has charred huge swathes of woodland since breaking out in a mountainous area on Tuesday, damaged three hotels in Kiotari on Saturday.

The risk of wildfires on Rhodes and other areas across Greece remains very high, with temperatures expected to hit a stifling 45C on Sunday.

Fires are common in Greece but hotter, drier and windy summers have turned the country into a tinderbox in recent years.

Fire Service spokesman Yannis Artopios said the blaze in Rhodes is the most dangerous of several burning across Greece.

Smoke rises from a wildfire in Rhodes (Picture: @blairsbrainiacs via Reuters)

The usually beautiful skyline is scarred by plumes of thick black smoke (Picture: AP)

Plumes of smoke darken the skies (Picture: Reuters)

One northwest of Athens and another near Sparta are easing, he said, although others may still erupt.

Meteorologists have warned that the current sweltering temperatures are expected to last until the end of the month.

There will be a brief respite in the current heatwave on Monday, but it will resume Tuesday and could last until at least Friday, forecasters added.

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