Norwegian Iselinn Næss is on holiday with her family on the Greek holiday island of Kos. They are among the evacuees after a forest fire came dangerously close to their hotel. In total, at least 44 Norwegians have been evacuated. 38 of these traveled with Apollo, while six traveled with Tui. Næss says that there has been back and forth all day about whether they should be evacuated or not. In the middle of the day, they spotted huge clouds of smoke over the pool area of the hotel. The cloud of smoke over the pool at the hotel where Næss and his family are on holiday. Photo: Privat The authorities on Kos sent alerts to mobile phones in Kardamena to evacuate. However, Næss says that the atmosphere at the hotel was calm, and that employees believed evacuation was not necessary. Suddenly the counter-notice came. Iselinn Næss received a warning from the authorities on Kos at 2.23pm today. Graphics: Private The family of five was told to pack the essentials and meet at the car park. – All you had to do was bring your passport and mobile phones and chargers. And the most necessary. It is not easy to know what it is, says Næss. – We smelled smoke. Næss and several others stood in the parking lot of the Atlantica Beach hotel and waited for buses to take them on. It took time, she says. Hundreds of people, both tourists and locals, have been evacuated to a football field at Kardamena on Kos. Photo: Private – It was a very first-come, first-serve arrangement. Everyone wanted to get on a bus, of course. And get to safety. We could smell the smoke, says Iselinn. She has been told that the wildfire was a 15-minute drive away from the hotel. According to the Greek newspaper Iefimerida, extra fire crews have been sent to the holiday island. Mayor Theodosis Nikitaras describes the situation as critical. By bus, the tourists were transported to a football pitch. According to Kos24, there are both locals and tourists who have been transported to the football pitch, and are awaiting further information. So far, the Greek authorities have not come up with any estimate of the number of people who have been evacuated to the holiday island. Photo: tipper Now they are sitting on the grass on the pitch and waiting to see what will happen to them. – Some are restless, some are trying to relax, some are trying to get babies to sleep. They hand out a lot of water, says Næss, and adds that more and more people are coming to the football pitch. At least 20 Norwegians evacuated Tui tells news that they have evacuated 78 customers. Six of these are Norwegian, but most are Swedish. In addition, Apollo informs VG that 14 Norwegian tourists traveling with them have been evacuated. – We have chosen to move our customers to three hotels on Kos following advice from the local authorities, due to a forest fire in the Kardamena area, says Tui’s communications manager, Anne Mørk-Løwengreen. She says the customers are being moved to another location. Anne Mørk-Løwengreen in Tui. Photo: TUI – They will probably spend the night in a conference centre, so that they are completely safe and secure from the forest fire. That is the most important thing for us at Tui, says Mørk-Løwengreen. – But it seemed that evacuation might not be necessary, but we knew it was a possibility. Therefore, we were prepared for that to happen, and we had buses on standby. When the message from the authorities came, we were able to start the evacuation quickly, she says. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is aware of the evacuations. They have not yet received any inquiries from affected Norwegians. – We recommend Norwegian citizens in the area to listen to local authorities and keep up to date with the local news, says deputy director Helene Sandbu Ryeng in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an e-mail to NTB. 11 planes and five helicopters are now fighting the flames on the islands of Kos and Chios, reports Reuters. The islands in Greece are popular tourist destinations – but have often been affected by forest fires in recent years. Large areas of land were burnt down. Almost 20 people lost their lives, and several tens of thousands had to evacuate as a result of forest fires. There have also been many forest fires during this year’s season. Published 01.07.2024, at 22.30 Updated 01.07.2024, at 23.17
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Norwegians evacuated after forest fire on Kos – moved to football pitch – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
