Tour operators flew more than 2,000 holidaymakers home on Monday as wildfires raged on the island of Rhodes in what the Greek government said was the largest evacuation ever undertaken in the country.
More repatriation flights were due on Monday and Tuesday as the fires remained out of control and the Civil Protection authority warned the threat of further fires was high in almost every part of Greece, gripped by a heatwave.as an inferno reached coastal resorts on the island's southeast. A wildfire also led to evacuations on the island of Corfu."For the next few weeks we must be on constant alert.
After leaving hotels and resorts, many tourists spent the night on Rhodes airport floor, waiting for repatriation flights, the first of which left overnight. British Foreign Office Minister Andrew Mitchell estimated that up to 10,000 Britons were on the island.
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