30,000 people evacuated as wildfires rage in Greek Rhodes Island

ATHENS, 22nd July, 2023 (WAM) — Officials on the Greek island of Rhodes said Saturday they had moved 30,000 people threatened by wildfires to safety, including 2,000 who had to be ferried off beaches.

Tourists and some locals were being taken to gyms, schools and hotel conference centres on the island where they will stay overnight, while firefighters battle the blaze, according to AFP.

George Hadjimarkos, regional governor of the South Aegean, told Skai television that the operation, which was still ongoing, had been hampered by fires cutting off some road access.

A Rhodes municipality official said that members of the coastguard, the armed forces and local authority workers used dozens of buses to help move people away from the fires.