Corfu, Greece

Around 2,500 tourists were evacuated from Corfu, a popular Greek island, after wildfires spread, said a spokesman for the fire department on Monday (July 24).

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Yannis Artopios said that fires have been raging in the north of the island as 2,466 people were evacuated overnight between Sunday and Monday, but no hotels or houses suffered destruction so far. 

Corfu has been the latest island of Greece to have issued an evacuation order, as the country fights wildfires.

In the photos shared on social media, flames are seen engulfing Corfu. Fire also broke out in the northern part of the island, which is seen as a destination popular with British tourists.

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This comes after around 19,000 people were also evacuated from the island of Rhodes, which was also engulfed by fire. A lot of people were forced to flee their hotels as the wildfires continued to spread from the centre of the Greek island.

ALSO READ | Greece battles wildfires for fifth day amid heatwave

Greece battles with searing heat

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For days now, Greece has been battling with searing heat as temperatures exceed 40C across the nation, and fires continue to blaze for nearly a week in some areas.

On Monday, a planned national holiday was cancelled "in view of the extraordinary conditions prevailing in the country due to the fires", said the Greek presidency.

Greece's Emergency Communications Service on Sunday evening had issued evacuation orders for various areas of Corfu.

People living in the areas of Santa, Megoula, Porta, Palia, Perithia and Sinies on Corfu island were asked to evacuate. A government official said that the boats in the area were dispatched to evacuate residents by sea. 

Corfu and Rhodes, which have been battling wildfires, are popular tourist destinations which are thronged by hundreds of thousands of Brits every year.

"We are in the seventh day of the fire and it hasn't been controlled," said Rhodes Deputy Mayor Konstantinos Taraslias, while speaking to state broadcaster ERT. Tourists were forced to spend their nights on the floors of the airport, waiting for repatriation flights.

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"It was quite a bit of a struggle on the beach with the smoke," stated John Hope, a tourist from Manchester, England.

Flights departing for Rhodes were cancelled by tour operators Jet2, TUI and Corendon cancelled. 

Ryanair stated that its flights to and from Rhodes were normally operating. Chief Financial Officer Neil Sorahan said that the situation was being monitored by the airline on Monday.

"We have a lot of customers there who want to get home. We're not going to leave them behind so we'll travel back in and out. It's not necessary at this period in time (to put on more flights), we're letting people book onto earlier flights," he said. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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