Published 2024-07-01 21.05
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Violent fires ravage the Greek island of Kos.
Hundreds of Swedish tourists are now being evacuated from the Kardamena area.
– They will be moved to a safe place, says Tui’s communications manager Adam Györki.
- Heavy forest fires are ravaging the Greek island of Kos, which has led to the travel company Tui evacuating around 50 Swedish tourists from the Kardamena area.
- The evacuation, which is currently underway, is to ensure the safety of the tourists and allow the police and emergency services to work undisturbed.
- In addition to Tui, Apollo is also evacuating several hotels, while Ving has no hotels in the affected areas but is offering alternative accommodation to worried travelers.
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During Monday, several forest fires broke out on the Greek island of Kos.
The travel company Tui has now started moving Swedes who are in the affected Kardamena area.
– We are moving around 50 guests from hotels in the area to a safe place. They will be driven out to various conference centers and hotels where they can stay overnight, says communications manager Adam Györki.
Martin, 22, is to be evacuated
According to Györki, the evacuation is currently underway.
– We have had buses ready because it looked like it could become relevant. We have also informed our customers during the day that this may happen. We move them to be safe so nothing happens during the night and so the police and emergency services can work undisturbed.
Martin Holmgren, 22, from Lidköping must be evacuated together with his family.
– We are sitting outside the hotel and waiting for buses to take us away. There is an insane amount of smoke here, he says.
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full screen The Holmgren brothers are evacuated from their hotel. Photo: Private
The family arrived in the Kardamena area of Kos last Thursday.
– We noticed the fire during the morning. But then the smoke has come closer and closer. During the day, we have seen airplanes and helicopters throwing water some distance from our area, says Martin Holmgren.
According to a text message from Tui, the family is to be moved to a soccer field in a nearby village.
“This has been announced by the rescue service in Kos. We will then transport you to one of our other hotel’s conference rooms to make it more convenient for you,” the airline writes.
“Pure chaos”
Jörgen Frisfors, 60, from Gothenburg is on holiday in Kos. He was eating with his family in the hotel restaurant when they were told to evacuate.
– The hotel staff came up to us and asked us to leave the food and evacuate, he says.
Now he is in a school near the airport on the island.
– It has been pure chaos.
Emma, who is on Kos with her boyfriend, was informed at 10 p.m. that they are to be evacuated from their hotel.
– We are standing out here now and it is chaos when people have to crowd, but there is not room for everyone so you have to wait, she says.
They have not received any information from the travel company Ving, she says.
– It’s a bit bad.
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fullscreen chevron-rightnextPeople have been evacuated to a soccer field.
1 / 2Photo: Reader image
Apollo is also evacuating several hotels.
– Four of our hotels will be evacuated, which means that 50 travelers will be moved at the request of the authorities on the island, says Martina Krantz, press officer at Apollo.
She says that affected travelers will be contacted and that the travel agency is “fully searching” for alternative hotels for the travelers.
– The whole thing has gone quickly, very quickly. We have had difficulty getting accurate information about the whereabouts of all our travelers. What we do know is that they are all about to be taken to safety. But we send out text messages and keep everyone updated on the situation.
Ving has travelers on Kos, but not in areas affected by the fire.
– Our hotels are not located in the area being evacuated. But we are in contact with the 23 travelers we have in a nearby area. My colleagues are currently looking at offering other hotels to travelers who feel worried, says Charlotte Hallencreutz at Ving.
However, at 10 p.m., Ving states that two of the travel company’s hotels are evacuated, which means 5 travelers.
– We just got the message. We do not know exactly how many are affected, but we are in contact with all our travelers on site, says Charlotte Hallencreutz.
The Mayor: Critical
In a statement on Facebook, the mayor Theodosis Nikitaras describes the situation as difficult.
The situation on the island is critical. All forces are working. I have issued an evacuation order for the town of Kardamena. There is a great need for food and water both for our citizens who are fighting and for those who have evacuated their homes and hotels.
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fullscreen chevron-rightnext The fire smoke is visible from the hotel.
1 / 2Photo: Privat