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Burning forests on the Greek island of Rhodes: The fires have been going on for days

Photo: Argyris Mantikos / dpa

The situation on the Greek holiday island of Rhodes remains tense. In the meantime, about 30,000 people have been brought to safety from a forest fire that has been raging for days. More than 2000,<> of them, including numerous holidaymakers, were picked up by ships from beaches on Saturday, according to the Greek Coast Guard. In addition, dozens of buses were used for the evacuations. Some tourists had to make their way on foot because of roads blocked by flames.

The evacuations continued on Sunday night. "This is not a fire that will be over tomorrow or the day after tomorrow," fire department spokesman Vassilis Varthakogiannis told Skai TV. The fire in Rhodes will "bother us for days".

According to the Greek broadcaster ERT, firefighters had to seek shelter near Lardos in the Ypseni monastery. There, in turn, they tried to persuade the monks to leave the complex.

Regional governor Georgios Hadjimarkos said on Skai TV that evacuations had been complicated by road links cut off by the flames. Refugee holidaymakers and also some locals were accommodated for the night in gymnasiums, school buildings and hotel conference centres.

According to the coast guard, more than 2000,30 people were picked up by ships from the beaches of Kiotari and Lardos in the east of the Mediterranean island and taken to another, safe beach on the island. More than <> private ships were involved in this evacuation operation led by three Coast Guard ships.

A ship of the Greek Navy was on its way to the disaster area to help with the rescue operations, the coast guard said. Dozens of buses were also sent to rescue the people. In Kiotari, the fire damaged three hotels.

Since the evacuation alert was issued early Saturday morning, tourists had been walking to the beaches. Video footage shows that some were out and about with small children under the scorching sun.

According to media reports, some of the now evacuated holidaymakers had missed their flights from the island because the flames had cut off normal transport links. The Foreign Ministry in Athens said it had activated its crisis team to support the evacuation of foreign visitors.

The major fire in Rhodes has been raging for almost a week. He had erupted on a mountain in the center of the island. Five helicopters and around 200 firefighters were deployed to fight the fire.

Extreme heat wave in Greece

Greece is currently suffering from an extreme heat wave. Temperatures of over 44 degrees were predicted for this weekend. Numerous forest fires are currently raging in the country. According to the fire brigade, 24 new fires broke out within 46 hours.

Greece is just one of many countries around the world that are struggling with a prolonged extreme heat wave. In the U.S., the weather service warned around 80 million residents for this weekend of temperatures of 41 degrees and more. More than 46 degrees were predicted for Phoenix in the US state of Arizona, which is currently suffering the longest heat wave since weather records began.

asc/AFP