OUT OF THE FIRE
My daughter, 5, asked if we were going to die in desperate escape from Rhodes wildfires while our hotel burned down
A MUM has told of the heartbreaking moment her daughter, 5, asked if they were going to die as they fled the wildfires in Rhodes.
Joanna Hughes, 35, her husband Jon, 38, and their daughter Emilia travelled to the Greek island for a family holiday before the disaster struck.
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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.
But instead of the dream trip - they were left fleeing for their lives as 19,000 tourists and locals were evacuated as fires burned across Rhodes.
Joanna and her family were forced to leave their belongings at their hotel - which they later were told had burned down in the inferno.
"We were trying to keep ourselves together but Emilia could see that it wasn't right. She could sense it," she said.
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"She did say a couple of times 'Are we going to die?'. That is something I won't forget for a long time."
"I've not stopped crying since we got home."
They joined thousands of other tourists as they walked along the rocky beach during extreme heat in search of safety.
The family, from Murton, County Durham, walked for four miles to escape the flames and thick black smoke.
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But they finally reached a hotel where the Army and police were transporting people away from the area.
Officers took them in a police car 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, 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."
"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 no where 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."
Joanna, Jon, 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.
Joanne said: "It was our summer holiday with Emilia. She's in reception so it's our first 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 could 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."
Joanna said that on Saturday afternoon the wildfires got worse and they decided to leave the hotel.
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."
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.
After reaching the airport, Joanna said they paid £300 each to secure a TUI flight back to Newcastle on Sunday morning.
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."
Jet2 has since cancelled all flights to Rhodes until next Sunday.
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."
Weather experts have declared 2023 an El Niño year - a natural phenomenon that occurs cyclically and causes fluctuations in the global climate.
The UN’s World Meteorological Organization said it will raise temperatures around the world, and the effect is likely to continue for the rest of the year.
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And despite the heat this summer, Europe's record temperature of 48.8C - recorded in 2021 in Sicily - has not been reached and is currently not forecast to be broken.
Greek authorities have since issued new warnings about further wildfires and have predicted temperatures could reach highs of 45C this week.
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