Couple fled four miles on foot with kids, 7 and 11, through 'apocalyptic' blaze
A British Dad and his wife fled four miles on foot with their two kids, ages seven and 11, in a desperate attempt to find safety amid the devasting wildfires on Rhodes.
Nick Stafford, 40, his wife Vicki, 40, seven-year-old Emilia and 11-year-old Louis were four of more than 30,000 locals and tourists who were forced out of their homes and hotels by wildfires on the Greek island.
Over 18 hours since they were told to evacuate their £350 a night hotel and leave three of their suitcases behind, the family from Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, still see no end in sight to their nightmare.
"Around 10pm last night, I think that was the time it's all a bit of a blur, hotel management were running around knocking on doors telling us to evacuate. It was utter chaos out there", Nick told the Mirror exclusively.
He added: "There were a couple of coaches turning up for the people who had packages through EasyJet and hotel workers were being picked up by locals. Eventually, we felt we had no choice but to walk down the coast to the next hotel. It was around 11pm at night and it was 33 degrees."
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Emilia and Louis trying to get some rest on the hotel floor (Twitter / @nick_staf)
Emilia and Louis walking through the darkness (Twitter / @nick_staf)The island was plunged into darkness once night fell due to a power cut earlier in the day, so the family were guided by the torches on their phones with the last bits of battery remaining.
"It was pretty apocalyptic and hard work with the kids. Looking ahead was completely dark on the road, but behind us, the full horizon was lit up as far as you could see."
After walking six miles, the family managed to hitch a ride from a local for the last two miles and reached the safety of another hotel.
"The hotel got gradually and gradually more busy, there must have been hundreds of people. We queued at the one shop in the hotel for two hours for snacks", Nick continues.
"Getting hotel breakfast was one-in-one-out and it was a scrum so we gave up on that. Ash was falling from the sky but some people were lying outside on sunbeds to sleep."
Follow along for the latest news on the Rhodes wildfires here
Helen Tonks and her family spent the night in an old sports hall (Helen Tonks)Vassilis Varthakogiannis, of the fire service, told Skai TV, based in Athens: "This is not a fire that will be over tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. It’ll be troubling us for days."
The Stafford's travel operator, British Airways (BA), has arranged for the family to evacuate on a flight tomorrow but has not offered any alternative accommodation for tonight, nor transport to safety or the airport. Nick says there are no taxis available and all the buses are being used by other travel companies.
BA say they are "very concerned" about the situation and have been in contact with customers in the affected area to "check they’re safe and provide assistance."
Tourists are evacuated as huge wildfire rages across Greece's Rhodes island (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)Nick says TUI sent "some buses" and Jet2 has a "whole fleet." He continued: "We were told that the company BA use can’t provide transfers. Kuoni has sorted cars for their customers. So we’re left to fend for ourselves once again. I am surprised at the complete lack of guidance."
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Meanwhile, Helen Tonks from the east Midlands landed in Rhodes on a TUI flight just before 11 pm last night despite the fires raging. She, her husband and daughters aged 15, 21 and 22 landed and were told they would have to sleep in a school sports hall which had been turned into an emergency refuge centre.
Helen sent photos to the Mirror showing hundreds of people crammed in one hall — she said there "is no end sight, its total chaos."
Nick is frustrated that the Foreign Office has given no clear instructions on what people should do. He added: "Either they don't know the full picture or they're just trying to try to sweep it under the carpet and play it down a little bit. Normally you see this stuff on the news, but it is really weird to be caught up in it."
The view from Nick's hotel before they evacuated (Twitter / @nick_staf)He also points out the impact of climate change and the effect these wildfires are going to have on locals. "Their livelihoods... the hotels have been razed to the ground already. Who knows when people will be going back to some areas?
"These extremes are going to become more common and people should be looking at what we need to do and what governments need to do to address it."
Nick says the children are staying quiet and don't want to talk about it: "I think they are finding it really hard."
But seven-year-old Emilia did tell her Dad that when she goes back to school she'll be telling her friends is the worst holiday she has ever had.
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