Slovak tourists returning from Rhodes due to fires. (source: TASR)
Due to wildfires on the island of Rhodes, Greece is experiencing the largest evacuation operation in its history. So far, more than 19,000 tourists and residents, including Slovaks who had arrived just a few days prior, have had to flee.
Slovak travel agencies sent two planes for tourists who could not be transferred to a hotel in another part of the island. One with 189 on board landed in Bratislava on Sunday evening, the other with the same number of passengers landed at 03:00 AM in Brno, the passengers then transported to the Slovak capital.
If necessary, the agencies are ready to send more planes for Slovaks. According to the Interior Ministry, the current situation does not warrant sending a special government airplane, but will send one immediately if the situation worsens.
Tourists should contact their travel agencies and discuss compensation.
Those who remained on Rhodes, transferred to a hotel in the north part untouched by fires and considered safe, can continue their stay.
On Monday early morning, a plane departed from Košice airport headed for northern Rhodes, with another flight planned for Tuesday. However, several airlines and travel agencies abroad have already started cancelling flights to Rhodes, including those in Germany and United Kingdom, until at least Tuesday.
On Sunday, 28 Slovak firefighters were deployed to fight the fires on the island.
"During the second day of their deployment in Greece, the Slovak firefighters helped to pump water to fill the fire trucks of local firefighters. Later, they moved to another location with the aim of creating a defensive line in the dry river bed near the village of Asklipieio," the Firefighter and Rescue Corps Presidium stated, adding that the firefighters were working to extinguish outbreaks in several places.
However, heat and the constantly changing direction of the strong wind complicated their work.
Wildfires in Rhodes. (source: TASR/AP)
