Some major German tour operators are canceling further trips to the Greek holiday island of Rhodes, which has been hit by severe fires. A spokeswoman for DER Touristik announced that all trips to the south of Rhodes would now be canceled up to and including July 29th. The same applies to stays in hotels that are in the official warning zone on the Greek island of Corfu.
The organizer FTI is canceling all trips to Rhodes up to and including July 26, said a spokeswoman. Tui will no longer bring tourists to the holiday island up to and including Friday. One continues to try to get the guests out as quickly as possible, said a spokeswoman. Airlines are sticking to their scheduled flights to and from Rhodes for the time being. “We are also making capacities available for the currently higher demand from Rhodes back to Germany,” said a Eurowings spokeswoman.
Greece is struggling with large forest fires. Fires, which got out of control over the weekend, are still raging in Rhodes, and there are now widespread fires elsewhere. The worst danger seems to have been averted on Corfu. However, the authorities warn of a very high risk of forest fires in large parts of the country, and they have declared the highest alert level in five areas.
On Rhodes Firefighting planes and helicopters will be used again this Monday, some from Turkey and Egypt, according to the fire brigade. Nevertheless, a fire flared up again around the village of Gennadi. During the night, hundreds of firefighters fought against the fires spreading to other villages and towns. They were repeatedly ignited by strong winds.
Thousands of tourists, who had to leave their hotels around the popular holiday town of Lindos on Saturday because of the heavy smoke and the ever-approaching flames, spent the second night in sports halls and schools. Many waited at the airport for the next opportunity to depart. The German Travel Association (DRV) announced: “Today, tomorrow and Wednesday, the tour operators are operating numerous special flights to bring the passengers affected by the evacuations back home.” The travel group Tui flew vacationers back to Great Britain in three jets; the airline Easyjet planned two more flights from Rhodes to Gatwick for Monday, in addition to the nine flights already planned according to the timetable. In Germany, a crisis team at the Federal Foreign Office is to discuss the situation on Monday.
However, despite the fires, more tourists arrived on charter and scheduled flights on Sunday, reporters reported. Around 90 percent of Rhodes hotels are unaffected by the fires, according to local authority officials – but most of them are fully booked given the peak season. The authorities spoke of almost 20,000 people who were taken to safety, both holidaymakers and locals.
Emergency camp: Many tourists and locals also spent Monday night in gyms.
(Photo: Reuters)
Forest fires also in Corfu, Euboea and mainland Greece
On the island Corfu (Kerkyra) A forest fire was brought under control in the northwest of the country. On the night of Monday, the authorities had preventive almost 20 settlements evacuated and about 1,000 tourists and locals from the popular resort of Nisaki were rescued by Coast Guard boats. The tourists spent the night in a theater in Corfu Town. The danger is now over and people should gradually return to their hotels, reports the local state radio station.
According to one Newspaper report Kathimerini The Mayor of North Corfu, Giorgos Mahimaris, blamed arson as the cause of the fire, as it broke out simultaneously in three different locations on the slopes of Mount Pantokratoras.
The forest fires in Corfu.
(Photo: Julia Dzhyzhevska/REUTERS)
Also on the island Euboea (Evia)at Karystos, and on the peninsula Peloponnese Large fires were reported near the small port town of Egion on Monday morning. Numerous villages were evacuated there. No one has been injured so far, the emergency services said.
In Algeria 25 people died in forest fires on Monday. Ten soldiers are among the victims in the mountainous regions of Bejaia and Bouira, Algerian authorities said. Around 7,500 firefighters are on duty. So far, around 1,500 people have been evacuated from danger zones.
Also in the neighboring Tunisia fires raged. In the border town of Melloula, fires that broke out in the mountains reached houses on the outskirts, eyewitnesses told Reuters news agency. Hundreds of families were forced to flee.
Dry and hot: Authorities speak of a high risk of forest fires
Greece is currently being hit by a heatwave that experts believe could be the longest since measurements have been taken in the country. In large parts of the country, temperatures rise to 40 degrees Celsius and more during the day; on Sunday 46.4 degrees were reached in the south of the Peloponnese peninsula – according to meteorologists the fourth highest temperature ever measured in Greece. It’s not supposed to be a bit cooler until Thursday.
At the same time, it hasn’t rained in areas like Rhodes for a long time. In five areas, the Greek civil protection called for Monday the highest alert level (“extreme fire risk”): in the region of Attica, in central Greece in the regional units of Boeotia and Euboea, on the Peloponnese in the regional units of Argolida, Corinthia, Messinia, in western Greece in the regional unit of Elis and on Rhodes in the South Aegean. According to the official warning, there is a “very high risk of fire” for eight other areas. It will remain so in the coming days.