Greek authorities evacuate some 19,000 people as wildfire blazes on the island of Rhodes

The Ministry of Climate Change and Civil Protection said it was “the largest evacuation from a wildfire in the country.”

Some 19,000 people have been evacuated from the Greek island of Rhodes as wildfires continued burning for a sixth day on three fronts, Greek authorities said on Sunday.

The Ministry of Climate Change and Civil Protection said it was “the largest evacuation from a wildfire in the country.”

Local police said that 16,000 people were evacuated by land and 3,000 by sea from 12 villages and several hotels. Six people were briefly hospitalized with respiratory problems and were later released. A person who fell and broke their leg during a hotel evacuation and a pregnant woman remain hospitalized, the latter in good condition, authorities say.

Package holiday companies TUI and Jet2 have canceled flights to Rhodes. Jet2 said it was canceling five flights due to leave for Rhodes on Sunday. It said it would fly the five planes to Rhodes empty to bring back customers on the island. TUI said it was canceling all its flights to the island until at least Tuesday.

British tourist Kevin Evans was evacuated twice on Saturday with his wife and three young children — first from Kiotari to Gennadi, then as the fire approached to the island’s capital in the northeast, he told Britain’s PA news agency.

“There were lots of people in Gennadi sent from the hotels — many in just swimsuits having been told to leave everything in the hotel,” he told PA. “As night fell, we could see the fire on the top of the hills in Kiotari. They said all the hotels were on fire.”

Rhodes travel agent Stelios Kotiadis confirmed to the Associated Press that the evacuation was hasty. “There was panic... The authorities were overwhelmed,” he said.