LATEST: The travel company TUI is canceling all departures to Rhodes until Tuesday. Apollo and Ving are canceling trips for those going to the affected hotels. The forest fires on Rhodes are now raging unchecked on three fronts, writes CNN Greece. 19,000 tourists have so far been evacuated, the authorities state according to the news agency AP. On Saturday evening they said that it applied to as many as 30,000, but have therefore adjusted this figure downwards. The Kjustad family from Fetsund is among the evacuees. Strolled in 40 degree heat Jeanette Gulbæk Myrvang Kjustad (34) is in Rhodes with her husband Georg Kjustad (34) and daughters Emine (7) and Ellie (5). They have been evacuated as a result of the forest fires. – The journey has been quite tough. We left La Branda yesterday at 01:30 with no information. We weren’t allowed to get anything from the room, but we ran and got our passports anyway, and then we went with hundreds of others, Kjustad tells news. The Kjustad family had to evacuate after the forest fires on Rhodes. Photo: Privat According to Kjustad, it was 40 degrees. Locals stood and hosed them down along the road, to cool them down. – Children cried, some fainted. There was bad information and we were just told to go and go and go. They made it to a hotel on foot, but they were also evacuated from there. Then they got a ride on a bus. – It was just a matter of finding mattresses from the sunbeds and lying around. The hotel was well stocked with food for those who arrived early. There are 5,000 people in the hotel here, says Kjustad. Watch video from the forest fire: Can’t get medicine The Kjustad family from Fetsund says that they didn’t take clothes or toiletries with them when they had to evacuate. They therefore walk around in the swimwear they were wearing. For Kjustad, who has epilepsy, it is a small crisis. – I have been on medication since I was 13, and have been seizure free since then. But those medicines must be taken daily, and now I haven’t been able to take them since the day before yesterday. So it’s starting to get a little urgent. The hotel on Rhodes where the Kjustad family is staying is packed. Photo: Privat The family back home in Norway is now working hard to get her the medicines. – I’m on a low dose and I’m confident in myself, but epilepsy requires you to sleep and eat well, so I’m a little afraid of that, she says about a possible seizure. A family from Bærum was evacuated by boat on Saturday evening. From there they could see the forest fires on the holiday island of Rhodes. Photo: private Travel companies cancel The travel company TUI informs news that they have just under 100 guests on Rhodes who are affected by the fires. Later on Sunday morning, TUI will cancel all flights to Rhodes until Tuesday, confirms communications manager Anne Mørk-Løwengreen to news. – We have full control over the situation of the guests, says Mørk-Løwengreen to news. BURNT: This hotel was gutted by flames on Saturday. Photo: Argiris Mantikos/Eurokinissi / Reuters Travel company Apollo has also canceled trips for affected guests. – Apollo has no flights to Rhodes again until Wednesday. What we do with these flights depends entirely on the situation and how it develops, says communications manager Beatriz Rivera to news. She says that Apollo flies to Rhodes on Sundays and Wednesdays. It is therefore Sunday’s journeys that have been cancelled. – The situation remains as it is now, we will of course cancel the trips to the affected area again, as we did with today’s departures. If it develops further to affect more of the areas where Apollo has hotels, we will naturally have to see if we will have to cancel the entire flight, says Rivera. Ving has also canceled the trip for 30 guests. – We have therefore also set up a Nordic crisis team at the weekend, and are in close contact with guests, our colleagues in Rhodes and local authorities. We are in contact with all affected guests, the travel company informs news. Several hundred contribute A total of 266 firefighters, 16 groups of walkers and 49 fire engines will work with the extinguishing work. A further 15 vehicles and 60 crews are expected throughout the day. From the air, 5 helicopters and 10 planes are assisting, from both Greece, Croatia and Turkey, according to the channel. The extinguishing work is particularly difficult because strong winds blow over the island. SCARY: the Norwegian family of children sat in the dark for several hours while the flames approached. In the end they had to run to the sea. Photo: private A delegation from the Greek government will be present on the island to monitor the situation. No injuries have been reported as a result of the fires, according to the Ministry for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, writes the BBC. On Saturday afternoon, tourists and permanent residents in two villages and two holiday resorts on Rhodes received emergency text messages that the forest fires were approaching. They had to evacuate. They received the same message from the travel company TUI. Housed in schools Stein Are Gjersvik lives on Rhodes, and runs a Facebook page for Norwegians traveling to the holiday island, among other things. He is scheduled to assist rescue workers and tourists affected by the forest fires on Sunday. Stein Are Gjersvik contributes with supplies and transport in the work with the forest fires on Rhodes. Photo: Private – I have been in contact with sources in the fire service. The crews are totally exhausted. We will run down energy drinks and fruit. That means emptying a number of shops, says Gjersvik to news. He says that on Sunday morning he drove past a school in Analipsi that served as a center for evacuees. news has also spoken to other Norwegians who say that evacuees are accommodated in schools and sports stadiums. BLACK BURNT: A woman walks along a road near Lindos on Rhodes where the fire has scorched all the vegetation. Photo: Lefteris Damianidis / Reuters
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Norwegian tourists escape from forest fires on Rhodes – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
