Disabled father claims he was forced to say goodbye to his wife and child on fire-ravaged Rhodes when ‘panicking Tui staff couldn’t find him a wheelchair’ – before family managed to escape Greek island
- The Nichols family had to evacuate the five-star Atlantica Dream Resort
A disabled father in wildfire-ravaged Rhodes claims he was forced to say goodbye to his wife and child when TUI staff could not find him a wheelchair as flames roared closer to their resort.
Steve Nichols, 56, his wife Annetta, 51, and their daughter Charlotte, 15, were caught up in the chaos on the Greek island as people scrambled to evacuate the five-star Atlantica Dream Resort on Saturday night.
Annetta claims that TUI staff initially could not find a wheelchair for her disabled husband as people were warned to flee, and told them: ‘Don’t take anything, run run run’.
She told The Telegraph: ‘At one point my husband actually said if you can’t get a wheelchair, you leave me here and you go. We effectively had to say our goodbyes.’
She told how ‘distressing’ it was to have to say goodbye to Steve, who was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 1991 amid the infected blood scandal.
Annetta claimed a TUI staff member then found an old wheelchair with ‘flat tyres’ in the hotel basement.
‘There were arguments beyond belief, people shouting and screaming, there were people passed out on the roadside. Nobody knew what to do. We were initially told we were ‘safe, don’t worry’ and to enjoy the holiday.’
The family had to sleep in a school, then a leisure centre, before they moved to alternative accommodation until their flight at the end of this week.
A TUI spokesperson told MailOnline their teams in Rhodes have been working tirelessly to support customers impacted by the wildfires in south-eastern parts of the island.
This satellite image shows a view of a fire near Gennadi on Rhodes island in Greece – the Atlantica Dreams Resort is in
Pine trees burning in a wildfire on the Greek island of Rhodes on Saturday
A firefighter tries to put out a wildfire in Asklipio village, on Rhodes island, on Sunday
Steve Nichols, 56, his wife Annetta, 51, and their daughter Charlotte, 15, were caught up in the chaos as people scrambled to evacuate the five-star Atlantica Dream Resort
‘Five repatriation flights have brought hundreds of customers home and we’re working hard to get everyone back as soon as we can,’ a statement said.
‘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 reps who are at all evacuation centres.
‘We have cancelled all outbound flights to Rhodes up to and including Friday 28th July, and have also cancelled holidays for customers travelling to impacted hotels up to and including Sunday 30th July.
‘We’ll be in touch with customers directly if their hotels in the South of the island have been impacted.
‘All flight-only customers due to travel on these flights will receive full refunds.
‘Package holiday customers will have the option to amend their booking or cancel with a full refund.
A fire burns trees and low vegetation in the Kiotari area of Rhodes, Greece, on Monday
A local resident tries to extinguish a fire, near the seaside resort of Lindos, on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes
Read more: Chaos as easyJet pilot tells tourists to get OFF flight to Rhodes despite Greek authorities and Foreign Office saying travel is fine
‘Passengers due to travel up to and including 30th July for all areas of Rhodes will be offered a fee free amend to another holiday or the option to cancel for a full refund. We are still operating flights from Rhodes back to UK & Ireland as scheduled.
‘The safety and well-being of our customers and teams remains our top priority.’
Greece braced for a new wave of soaring temperatures on Tuesday, as wildfires raged on two popular tourist islands.
In the capital city, Athens, the mercury is expected to soar to 41 degrees Celsius and reach up to 44C in central Greece, according to the national weather forecaster EMY.
The hot weather comes after a weekend of intense heat and after thousands of locals and tourists fled forest fires in Rhodes and Corfu, with the prime minister warning the heat-battered nation is ‘at war’ with the flames.
Authorities evacuated nearly 2,500 people from the Greek island of Corfu on Monday, after tens of thousands of people had already fled blazes on the island of Rhodes, with many frightened tourists scrambling to get home on evacuation flights.
This satellite image taken on July 24 shows a view of a fire and plumes of smoke on Rhodes island in Greece
More than 260 firefighters were still battling flames for an eighth consecutive day on Rhodes, supported by two helicopters and two planes.
Fires were also raging on Greece’s second largest island of Evia, where Greek civil protection authorities issued an overnight evacuation order in one northern locality.
‘We are at war and are exclusively geared towards the fire front,’ Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament on Monday.
He warned that the country faced ‘another three difficult days ahead’ before high temperatures are forecast to ease.
Vassilis Kikilias, Greece’s civil protection minister, said crews had battled over 500 fires around the country for 12 straight days.
Many regions of the country were on ‘red alert’ on Tuesday, meaning there is an extreme risk of forest fires, exacerbated by strong winds.
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