British father recalls 'scariest moment in my life' after family escape Rhodes wildfire

A sports teacher from Devon has told how his family's hotel was turned into a makeshift refuge as tourists and locals were evacuated during Rhode's devastating wildfires.

British tourists have described "terrifying" scenes as the five-day fire continues to rage, with power cuts causing "chaos" and an absence of information provided by travel agencies.

Among them was Dan Jones, director of sport at Torquay Academy, whose family was forced to wade through the water onto a fishing boat in order to escape.

In a series of updates on social media, he said people had walked for miles through the blistering heat to reach the hotel where his family was staying.

Read more: British tourist says trying to escape Rhodes wildfires 'was like end of the world'

Jones posted a video of smoke-filled skies and giant flames about six miles in the distance, telling holiday provider Tui that "we need some communication".

Around three hours later, he shared a picture of his three smiling boys on a boat – with raging fires lighting up the night sky in the background.

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"We are safe for now. The scariest moment in my entire life. After wading into the sea and climbing on a fishing trawler, we are away from danger," he said.

"I don't know how they'll process this when the dust settles, but what brave boys. Family is everything."

Another British tourist, who was staying in the Kiotari area of Rhodes, told how the sea had become "black like soot", while ash rained down on people's heads from black clouds above.

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Describing a rush of people as boats showed up to collect evacuees, Ian Murison, from London, told Sky News: "It was literally like the end of the world. And the flames were now far more visible because of course it's night-time and we couldn't see that during the day.

"Suddenly there were leaping flames into the sky, and the sky was completely orange in the distance - so that sort of set about a level of panic."

In previous days the wildfire was confined to the island's mountainous centre, but aided by winds, very high temperatures and dry conditions, it spread on Saturday towards the coast on the island's central-eastern side.

Local media reported the fires had reached three hotels, which had already been evacuated, while three coast guard vessels, plus one from the army, were evacuating people from two beaches.

Fire Service spokesman Yannis Artopios said on Saturday that more wildfires could break out as temperatures are set to reach 45C on Sunday.

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Thomas Cook said 40 of its customers were at hotels in Lardos and Kiotari – the areas most affected by the fire.

Corinne Watson, 42, who is holidaying with her husband and two sons, said she had only received one automated text message from Tui, telling her they were "sorry for any disruptions".

The mother-of-two told how staff are working "exceptionally hard" at her hotel, which has accepted some evacuees, while power losses caused chaos in the kitchens.

However, she said Tui had offered a "poor service" with no information on whether her area was safe or what to do in the event of an evacuation.

"Getting information is very difficult. Currently we are lucky, in a lovely hotel and hope it stays that way," said the local government worker from Cumbria.

"For others, both tourists and locals, it is awful and terrifying. I hope they bring them under control quickly with limited damage."

Watch: Family spends night on floor of school as tourists evacuated during Rhodes wildfires

A spokesman for Thomas Cook said: "We are monitoring closely the wildfires in Rhodes and are in touch with our customers who are on holiday there.

"Our teams are in regular contact with our holidaymakers on the island currently as well as those about to depart to discuss their options."

There will be a brief respite in the heatwave on Monday, but it will resume on Tuesday and could last until at least Friday, meteorologists have said.

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The Foreign Office has updated its foreign travel advice on the heatwaves and wildfires in Europe.

It said: "If you are a British national affected by wildfires in Rhodes, please follow the guidance from the emergency services. Call the Greek emergency services on 112 if you are in immediate danger."

A Tui spokeswoman said the company is "continuing to do all they can in a fast-moving situation" and had representatives at evacuation points.

She said: "We're closely monitoring the situation in Rhodes where wildfires have led to the evacuation of a number of hotels in the south of the island.

"Our resort teams are doing everything they can to support customers and asking them to follow the advice of the local authorities who we are working closely with.

"Our main priority is always the safety of our customers and we’ll continue to do all we can to assist those impacted.'