Greek wildfires have cast a haunting haze over the island of Kos as flames continue to rage through the island, with tourists now being evacuated from one locality.
A British tourist has told how evacuations have begun in the resort town of Kardamena, where smoke from a nearby wildfire has prompted some local evacuations. Tourists earlier today received a text telling them to relocate, and officials have since started extracting people.
Michelle Dale, a British tourist staying in an apartment on the island, said Greek authorities have taken some people to a local school and football field. She told the Daily Mirror that she has stayed in her apartment as the smoke was "too bad outside" the evacuation points, and she was receiving "confusing" messaging from Greek authorities.
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She said: "We have stayed in our apartment as it is so confusing. We are away from the fire, but smoke is everywhere." The tourist said planes have been grounded for the day due to the darkness, with firefighters and the army taking over control of the flames.
She added: "They have bussed some people to a football field and a school. I didn’t go as the smoke was too bad outside, and I have asthma. Ms Dale said that some people have also been placed on moored ferries and kept there for "hours" without updates.
She said: "We walked past others who have come off the moored ferries as they’ve been on them for hours with no updates." A video shared by Ms Dale pans across the Kardamena coastline, where a grey haze looking like a storm cloud can be seen descending on the area, with an accompanying eery silence.
Other holidaymakers have told of similar experiences in the resort town, adding the air is "anxious" as families are packed into coaches heading for evacuation spots. Speaking to Sky News, Clare Smith, 38, from Edinburgh, said the island feels like it is in the midst of an apocalypse.
She said: "It's really windy here, it will be like a tinderbox. The sky is covered in smoke. You feel like you're in the apocalypse, or some sort of war film."
