'I'm a maid of honour stuck in Rhodes wildfires - TUI has told us nothing'
A maid of honour stuck in fire-ravaged Rhodes has no idea whether her best friend's wedding will go ahead - despite it being scheduled to take place in just two days' time.
Sophie May Edwards, 33, and her 12-year-old daughter Amelie were forced to sleep on the floor of a classroom on Saturday, as hundreds of holidaymakers took shelter while wildfires devastated parts of the Greek island.
After landing, the pair were promptly told they would not be going to their resort, and spent more than three hours on a coach going from place to place "without water or any idea where they'd end up".
They were eventually dropped at the same school as the wedding party, a group of around 15 people including a two-year-old, over-60s and two teenagers, and were "left in the lurch" by TUI until the following morning - an assertion strongly denied by the travel firm.
More than 20 guests remain at home, having been told that their holidays are cancelled. The bride, Grace, and groom, Dan, are now "putting on brave faces" as they wait to find out whether their special day will go ahead as planned.
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Sophie told the Mirror: "It's heartbreaking for them as they spent so much money and effort. They've been together for a long time, and friends since they were teenagers.
Sophie May Edwards (pictured), 33, has no idea whether her best friend's wedding will go ahead (Sophie May Edwards)"They were supposed to get married at a little chapel and then reception at a restaurant - that was the original plan, but the bride hasn't heard anything yet. It looked like a Mamma Mia wedding.
"They haven't got money to plan a wedding like this and it not happen. This was their dream."
The couple, who arrived with their immediate families around three days beforehand, were evacuated from their hotel in the resort of Pefkos after being pinged an emergency alert on their phones.
Sophie said: "They were at the hotel and could see the flames and the smoke. They could feel it on their chest. They were still at the bar and everything was like 'carry on', then all of a sudden all the guests got an emergency alert on their phone. It was just 'grab your things and go'.
Sophie's daughter slept on top of a beach towel (Sophie May Edwards)"She grabbed her wedding dress, rings, and the groom's suit, thinking 'I'll have the wedding on a beach if I have to!' They were just left outside the hotel with nothing from TUI, and didn't know what was happening at all."
Sophie - who booked an £800-per-person package through the holiday provider - said representatives were left "to fend for themselves", and heaped praise on locals who pitched in to help.
She continued: "There were hundreds of us at the school, around a thousand. Every classroom and all the corridors were full. Everyone was sleeping on the floor - it was crazy.
"The power kept cutting out, then all the toilets were blocked the next morning. It was just horrific. There were no sleeping bags, nothing. Luckily I had packed mini blow-up pillows, and I put a beach towel down to lie on.
The couple are now "putting on brave faces" (Sophie May Edwards)
Grace and Dan are still hoping for their dream wedding (Sophie May Edwards)"The tiling on the floor was roasting hot, so a lot of people chose to try and sleep sitting up on chairs or leaning on desks. Some young kids were just lying on top of desks.
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"The locals have been unreal - so, so helpful, bringing fruit, food, pillows, just rocking up themselves. We spoke to some waiters saying they were going to help people, and were dealing with fires themselves. One waiter said he's been going up rescuing animals.
"They've stepped in and done more than TUI would ever do."
The teacher said her plane from Manchester Airport was also delayed on Saturday afternoon, as they waited for confirmation on whether they could fly out.
An emergency alert was pinged to the bride and groom's phones (Sophie May Edwards)She added: "They OK'd it, which should not have happened. They should not have flown anyone out here. When we got here we were waiting on the tarmac for so long. What struck me was there was nothing then from the pilot or anything.
"It was almost like 'right, we've got them here and they’re off the plane'. They didn't say 'unfortunately you won't be going to hotels... they knew we shouldn't have gone there."
Two of her friends forked out for alternative accommodation on Sunday night, with 10 of the wedding guests cramming themselves into a two-bedroom apartment.
The wedding party was forced to sleep on the floor of a classroom (Sophie May Edwards)
Guests crowded outside the school where they were evacuated to (Sophie May Edwards)Sophie finally arrived at her intended hotel on Monday morning, but says there is no running water, adding: "Three TUI reps are here but they didn't bother to greet us and haven't provided water for us to clean ourselves."
The bride is scheduled to have a meeting later today to find out whether her wedding go ahead.
Sophie said: "The fires just seem relentless at the moment - once firefighters have got one out another one will pop up.
"Grace is kind of thinking the wedding's not going to happen but doesn't definitely know yet. In the aftermath of this people's priorities are going to understandably change."
In a Facebook post, Grace said: "Still no idea if this wedding is happening or not but with everything that's happened it just doesn't matter. Perhaps the Hero of Pefkos can marry us in the bar!"
Plumes of smoke seen from the beach where the bride and groom were staying (Sophie May Edwards)
Sophie says the wildfires "seem relentless at the moment" (Sophie May Edwards)Sophie reiterated her appreciation to the locals for her help, and has now launched a GoFundMe to "make this wedding happen and hopefully help to give back to this wonderful community".
A TUI UK and Ireland spokeswoman said: "Our teams in Rhodes have been working tirelessly to support customers impacted by the wildfires in south-eastern parts of the island and three dedicated flights brought our first customers safely back to the UK overnight.
"We have reps in all evacuation centres and we’re aiming to get more people home from the affected areas as soon as we can.
"We appreciate how distressing and difficult it’s been for those who have been evacuated and ask that they continue to follow the advice of the local authorities and keep in touch with our teams.
"We have cancelled all outbound flights to Rhodes up to and including Friday 28th July, and have also cancelled all outbound flights for customers travelling to impacted hotels up to and including on Sunday 30th July.
"All customers due to travel on these flights will receive full refunds.
"Passengers due to travel to areas not affected by fires on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th July will be offered a fee free amend to another holiday or the option to cancel for a full refund. We are still operating empty outbound flights to bring those customers currently on holiday elsewhere in Rhodes home as planned and working to get those in affected areas as soon as possible.
"The safety and well-being of our customers and teams remains our top priority."
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