Fires in Greece | Firefighters are still battling the flames on the island of Rhodes

(Rhodes) More than 250 firefighters were still battling the flames on Sunday on the tourist island of Rhodes where 30,000 people were evacuated, “the largest operation” of the type “ever carried out in Greece”, crushed under a furnace favoring fires.

Hundreds of tourists waited at Rhodes International Airport, looking for a flight home, while several airlines suspended flights to the island.

Since the beginning of summer, the heat has overwhelmed tens of millions of people around the world. July could turn out to be the hottest month on record on Earth, according to experts who point to the impact of global warming.

In Greece, the fire raged on Sunday for the sixth day in the south-east of Rhodes, an island in the Mediterranean of 100,000 inhabitants, very popular with British, German or French holidaymakers in particular, in the Dodecanese archipelago.

Supported by fifty trucks, ten Canadair and eight helicopters, more than 250 firefighters continued to fight against the flames, fanned by winds blowing up to 50 km / h.

Asked by AFP, a spokesperson for the fire brigade was unable to say whether the fire had spread further during the day.

Rescuers carried out Saturday on the island “the largest evacuation operation ever carried out” in the country, which continued overnight from Saturday to Sunday, according to a spokeswoman for the fire department, Konstantia Dimoglidou.

Some 30,000 people left their accommodation, including hotels, including 19,000 as a preventive measure. 3,000 were evacuated by sea. Gymnasiums, schools or conference centers were open for the night.

In total, twelve localities were abandoned, including Lindos, famous for its Acropolis perched on a hill. During the night, the flames reached the village of Laerma and spread to the coastal villages of Kiotari and Gennadi Lardos.

Paul F., a 23-year-old German, told the daily Bild that he was “saved from the fire”, with his friend Lara, “at the last moment” on Saturday.

After dozing off at the beach, they discover “the beach and the swimming pool [de l’hôtel] as deserted. They rush to the hotel, pack their things, then wait for help at the reception, where wet towels to protect themselves from the smoke have been distributed.

“Embers fluttered around our heads and no help was in sight. I had the feeling of being on my own, it was so hot and the smoke was so dense already that we couldn’t have lasted more than ten minutes more, ”he explains. “Some, panicked, have […] tried to find boats to leave”. But the buses eventually arrive.

Canceled flights

In the departures hall of the international airport, in the northwest of the island, some were lying or even asleep on the floor, in the middle of the luggage, while others were grouped together in front of the flight display panel, AFP noted.

The world number one in tourism TUI and the British company JeT2 suspended their tourist flights to Rhodes on Sunday but will send their planes there empty to be able to evacuate the tourists present on the island. Dutch tour operator Corendon announced a similar hiatus, according to local media.

Greece experienced temperatures of over 40°C in many places this Sunday. In the center of the country and on the Peloponnese peninsula, temperatures between 45°C and 46.4°C were recorded in the afternoon, according to the National Observatory of Athens.

After a very relative respite on Monday, with peaks at 38°C, a new heat wave is expected from Tuesday and should last until at least Friday, according to meteorologists.