'We escaped wildfires by driving through inferno with three dogs and five cats'
A British couple living on Rhodes told how they thought they were going to die as they drove through “Dante’s inferno” to reach safety.
Expats John Howlett, 59 and Karen Charter, 65, faced a wall of flames when they tried to leave their mountain home. They told how they crammed their three dogs and five cats into two cars after being surrounded on all sides by towering flames.
But they came so close to the flames as they were “licking the side of the road” that both their car roofs were scorched and burnt. The couple from Essex yesterday told of their relief to still be alive as they returned to their rented house to survey the devastation all around them.
They found Karen’s “pride-and-joy” - an uninsured classic Panther Kallista worth £15,000, burnt out. But the rest of their belongings were safe, as was their rented home, thanks to their neighbours who’d dug a trench around it.
John Howlett and his partner Karen Charter outside their Rhodes home which they fled for their lives (Phil Harris)Sadly, their car is not insured as it is seen as an “antique” and not roadworthy in Greece. But John, 58, looking around at the apocalyptic scenes, said: “We’re lucky to still be here, we could have died.”
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Hotel nightman, John, who moved to Rhodes to help after he was diagnosed with a bone disease, was still shaken by his ordeal. “I haven’t eaten or slept since,” he said. “Neither of us have.
“I was petrified. We nearly left it late and could have died. It was like being in a disaster movie. I actually drove through the flames. It was Dante’s Inferno.. It was just like in the films but you could smell it and feel the heat. It was crackling and the roaring noise was terrifying.
Karen's wrecked uninsured Panther Kallista sports car (Phil Harris)“Half way down the hill, I wanted to turn back but Karen said to keep going when she pulled up beside me. It was horrendous, all black with smoke, there were trees collapsed in front of us.” Karen, originally from Brentwood in Essex who moved to the village of Asklipio with John 18 years ago, said: “The whole sky was full of flames on both sides. We had to get out of there, there was no going back.”
When they finally got to the main road they saw a long line of people, many with children, walking with their belongings. The stream of people trekked nine miles in extreme temperatures along with 19,000 others involved in Greece’s largest ever evacuation.
Recalling how their escape began, Karen told how she had asked her friend to borrow cat carriers so they could take their pets with them. But they had to put a few of them in the same one as they rushed to get out.
They told how one of their dogs, a huge Greek hunting dog they rescued, was scared of the car and had not been on the road for five years - so they had to push him in.
John Howlett and his partner Karen Charter outside their Rhodes home with the burnt out wreck of Karen’s uninsured car (Phil Harris)
John Howlett with the singed roof of the car they escaped in with their animals from their Asklipio home (Phil Harris)John recalled: “The animals were scared too, they even went quiet once they were in the car". Sadly, the couple fear they have lost two of their cats who were nowhere to be seen when they packed up. They are leaving water and biscuits down and hope they’ve reached safety somewhere. Karen said: “Some of the biscuits had been eaten so I’m hoping they are still around”.
“I’m so worried about the deer too, I had a mum and her babies who has been coming to me for the last six years to be fed. I feed them daily. Three big deer were dead on the side of the road dead. We’ve all been leaving water out for them and food.”
All over the island bowls of water have been left for the wildlife which has been devastated by the wildfires. John said the island was incredibly lucky not to have seen any people die too, adding:
“I can’t thank our neighbours enough, he got the tractor and saved the house, it’s got my life in it,” John said. “He created a trench to stop the flames getting to it but they did get the pipes out the back and our barbecue. We’ve got water now but still no electricity.
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“He stayed in his house and the helicopter dropped water on his roof.” The couple said they will never get over the bravery of the local villagers with young men aged 20 in trainers trying to head off the flames.
John and Karen's home in Asklipio, on the island of Rhodes (Phil Harris)“The army tried to move the car but didn’t manage it. The firefighters were amazing two, apparently one had flames jump right over the top of him,” John added.
Asked why they hadn’t left earlier, John, a fanatical West Ham supporter, said: “Our life was in there, all our photos and memories.” In the next valley to the couple’s home a church was left untouched with the fire stopping just inches away from the door.
But locals have already started rebuilding on Rhodes with Mitsis hotels announcing; “The hotels are being cleaned and all the staff’s morale is strengthened. “...Our hotels in Kiotari, Mitsis Rodos Maris and Mitsis Rodos Village, had only minor damages and our hard working and brave staff members and contractor teams are currently on site to repair them.”
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