Tourists evacuated as fires blaze across Greek island of Rhodes - Here's what is happening

livemint.com:

Tourists have been forced to evacuate as wildfires burn through forests on the Greek island of Rhodes. Officials have so far rescued some 19,000 people as wildfires continued to burn for a sixth day on three fronts. Several travel agencies and airlines have halted passenger flights even as thousands of tourists and residents were forced to shelter in schools and indoor stadiums over the weekend.

 Jet2 and holiday group TUI has cancelled all outbound flights to the Greek island till Tuesday amid growing efforts to fight the blaze. On Sunday morning, 266 firefighters and 49 engines on the ground were joined by five helicopters and 10 planes – seven Greek, two Turkish and one Croatian - to help put out the wildfire. Another 15 engines were expected later in the day.

Meteorologists indicate that this could turn out to be the archipelago's hottest July weekend in around 50 years.   Jet2 airline has cancelled all flights and holidays to Rhodes on Sunday while major holiday group TUI has cancelled all outbound flights to the Greek island until Tuesday. Private boats have also begun helping the coastguard rescue people from beaches as wildfires approached.

“We have cancelled all flights and holidays that are due to depart to Rhodes today (five flights in total) ... We will fly those five aircraft to Rhodes with no customers onboard, so that we can bring customers back to the UK on their scheduled flights," the airline said in an official statement. Meanwhile TUI assured that “customers currently in Rhodes will return on their intended flight home." Some of the evacuated, including tourists, are being accommodated in other hotels, gyms and a conference center.