Holiday from hell - 26th July 2023

Wildfires have forced tens of thousands of tourists to flee the Greek island of Rhodes. The fires, sparked by temperatures of 45 degrees celsius and above, hit one of Greece's most popular holiday destinations at the height of the tourist season.

British tourist Kelly Squirrel was told by the police to head for the beach as the fires got close to her hotel.

Kelly Squirrel: "We were around the pool yesterday, saw the fires. One o' clock the police came into our reception and told everyone to get on to the beach. So, we ran down to the beach. We just sat there for fifteen minutes, half an hour and then more smoke came over us so we were told to move along the beach. Just keep walking. So, we were walking for about six hours, in the heat."

In the rush to evacuate, many tourists left behind all their belongings as they headed to the relative safety of the beaches.

Kevin Sales and his wife from England tried to help other evacuees.

Kevin Sales: "We went to the stadium for somewhere to stay and I couldn't believe the stories I was hearing from the people who' ve been evacuated from hotels. All their money, passports, clothing, we had to lend a woman some of my wife's clothes cause she had nothing to wear. It was terrible."

The Greek foreign ministry and embassies in Greece have set up desks in Rhodes airport to assist people who have lost all their travel documentation and identity papers.

German, French and British tour operators are sending empty planes to airlift evacuees out of Greece. Despite this, there remains confusion as some tour operators continue to insist visitors can still travel to the island and governments haven't issued official advice against travel.

More than 250 firefighters backed up by 18 aircraft are battling the blaze which continues to burn, fanned by strong winds. Fires have also broken out on the island of Evvia, devastated by wildfires last summer, and also on Corfu, another of Greece's most popular tourist destinations.