Girl, 5, asks 'are we going to die' as Brit family walk miles to escape wildfres
A mum has described the desperate moment her terrified five-year-old asked her if they were going to die as they fled from wildfires on Rhodes.
Joanna Hughes, 35, her husband Jon, 38, and their daughter Emilia were forced to run for safety after their family holiday turned into a desperate escape as flames engulfed the Greek island.
The couple paid £3,600 for the 10-night all inclusive break at the Lindos Imperial Resort & Spa in Kiotari, which they booked through Jet2, ChronicleLive reports.
But on Saturday the family were forced to leave their possessions at the hotel and join thousands of other tourists in a gruelling search for safety from the wildfires.
The family, from Murton, County Durham, walked for four miles along the rocky beach during extreme heat to escape the flames and thick black smoke.
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Jon Hughes, Joanna Hughes and their daughter Emilia in Rhodes (Chronicle Live)
Joanna Hughes, her husband Jon Hughes and their daughter Emilia, from Murton, County Durham, had to walk four miles to escape the wildfires in Rhodes, Greece (Chronicle Live)After eventually arriving at a hotel where the Army and police were transporting people away from the area, the exhausted family were given a ride by cops to a third hotel 13 miles away, where they met another family from Germany, who had a rental car.
The two families made the decision to team up and drive across the other side of the island so they could reach the airport and return home.
Joanna, who works in HR as a people specialist, said she has been told that the hotel they were staying in, and surrounding hotels, have been burned down.
She said: "Thousands of tourists had to flee. We were heading towards the water to try and keep as far away from the mainland as we could. We just had to walk along the beach, it was really rocky.
Tourists try to escape the wildfires (Chronicle Live)
Tourists had to walk along the beach to avoid the wildfires (Chronicle Live)"Then one guy shouted 'come up this way' and we had to turn and walk up a bank. That's when an ash cloud came down. It was just like walking in an oven, it was so hot. I couldn't see at all."
"There were babies wrapped in towels, it was horrific. We were up so high and we had nowhere to go, we had to keep going or we would be engulfed with the smoke. You could see the flames in the mountains.
"We were just walking and walking away from the flames that were coming down. We just didn't have a clue where we were going. We were following one road and there was no plan.
"We were trying to keep ourselves together but Emilia could see that it wasn't right. She could sense it. She did say a couple of times 'Are we going to die?'. That is something I won't forget for a long time.
The family on their holiday before they had to escape the wildfires (Chronicle Live)
Plumes of smoke fill the sky as tourists try to evacuate the island (Chronicle Live)"I've not stopped crying since we got home."
Joanna, Jon, who works as an engineer for National Grid, and Emilia travelled to the hotel in Rhodes on Wednesday (July 19) and were due to return home on Saturday, July 29.
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Joanne said: "It was our summer holiday with Emilia. She's in reception so it's our first one in the school holidays. We wouldn't usually have gone at peak time.
"When we landed we were in the taxi to get to the resort and we see the smoke already. The taxi driver said the fire had been going for a few days.
"She seemed alright about it and when we got to the hotel the receptionist said 'It's fine, it's in the mountains, it won't get near us'. They didn't seem very worried about it.
"We got to our hotel late at night and there was already ash on the sun lounger outside our room, so there was definitely something up in the air. At first we were fine, we were around the pool enjoying ourselves and there didn't seem to be any warnings.
"There was nothing from Jet2 to say there's ongoing fires in Rhodes. We had nothing from Jet2 and nothing from the Greek authority. So it was as if it was going to be fine."
Joanna said that on Saturday afternoon the wildfires got worse and they decided to leave the hotel.
Tourists are trying to escape from wildfires in Rhodes, Greece (Chronicle Live)She said: "We were around the pool until about 12.30pm. The black cloud was coming over from the mountains and it got gradually worse and worse.
"We had our pyjamas on as we couldn't sunbathe as it was so cloudy and the ash was coming down on us.
"We picked up at that point that we had to make the decision to go. We grabbed one bag, our passports and some cash and we left.
"Some of the hotel staff were shouting to leave but there wasn't an evacuation process and no one was accounted for. I don't know, if at that point there was any fire at the hotel, but there were no alarms going off.
"It was very much a matter of talking to your neighbour next to your room and making a decision.
"We had upgraded to a beach front room, so we could enjoy the pool. I think that's what helped us get to the beach quicker. There were families who we've spoken to who just made it down.
"There was crowd after crowd coming down from higher levels. One lady shouted 'leave, run, run'."
Joanna said that they walked four miles in the heat and took it in turns to carry Emilia, who had a blister on her foot and had been stung by a wasp.
When they arrived at Sensatori Atlantica Dreams Resort & Spa in Gennadi, Rhodes, an Army convoy was transporting people away from the area.
They were offered a lift in a police car by officers and were taken 13 miles away to the Atrium Prestige Thalasso Spa Resort and Villas in Lachania.
At the hotel, they met a German family with a rental car. Joanna said that more and more people were being brought to the hotel and they did not know what was going to happen next.
The two families decided to drive to the airport, where they managed to book flights home. Joanna said they paid £300 each to secure a TUI flight back to Newcastle on Sunday morning.
She said: "We thought it was probably our best chance of getting home. It was an hour-and-a half drive. There are friends who we know out there who have been moved into a classroom.
"We could still be waiting there or we could have been moved into a school. If we hadn't have got into the rental car, we would still be stranded somewhere else.
"There were at least three or four families that managed to get booked onto the same plane as us. They had the clothes they were wearing and that was it. We haven't got anything, we have lost everything.
"I don't think our hotel will be standing anymore. People have said that it was burnt down and the surrounding hotels around it were as well."
Joanne has slammed Jet2 for not getting in touch with them, and other holidaymakers, during the whole time they were there. She said that she only received a message from them on Sunday morning, when they were already back in Newcastle.
She said: "We pretty much always go with Jet2 holidays. I have got friends who work for the airline and we usually can't fault them.
"It does make you worry that no one is accounted for. There was no rep there, there was nothing.
"We didn't have any contact from them at all, not even a text to say 'we're aware of the ongoing situation'. I got a message from them this morning but that's no use to us, we're already home.
"I'm just grateful that there's some people out there that do help."
It is not the first time the family have found themselves in the middle of a natural disaster. In September last year, they had to remain in their hotel room in Florida, USA, for two-and-a-half days due to a Hurricane.
Jet2 has said that they have cancelled all flights to Rhodes up until, and including, July 30 and will fly empty aircrafts to Rhodes so they can bring customers back to the UK.
A spokesperson said: "The situation in Rhodes continues to evolve quickly, and our absolute priority is the health, safety and well-being of customers and colleagues in the affected areas.
“We can confirm that: Our in-resort teams are working hard to comply with the guidance of local authorities, and we are continuing to bring more customer helpers and colleagues into the area to provide further assistance. We are also flying an additional team of experienced colleagues to Rhodes to provide further support.
“We continue to ask customers in affected areas to follow the advice of both the local authorities, as well as staff in their hotels, who are acting under the advice of the authorities.
“We are contacting all customers in affected areas as quickly as possible by telephone so that we can support them with what they need. We are sending direct communications to affected customers to let them know this, and to remind them of our 24/7 Customer Helpline number.
“Due to these extraordinary circumstances, we have cancelled all flights and holidays that are due to depart to Rhodes up to and including Sunday 30th July. We believe this is the right thing to do for everyone, and we will be contacting affected customers with regards to their refund and rebooking options. We will fly those aircraft to Rhodes with no customers onboard, so that we can continue to bring customers back to the UK on their scheduled flights.
"We are keeping the situation under constant review, and we will continue to make decisions in the best interests of our customers."
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