My family and I survived wildfires on Greek island vacation thanks to local hero
A woman has broken down in tears after she recalled the terrifying moment she and her family were “running for their lives” from wildfires that have wreaked havoc on the Greek island of Rhodes.
Amy, from the UK, was holidaying on the popular Greek island with her partner and daughter, 11, when things took a turn for the worst when wildfires broke out.
Temperatures have soared to more than 40 degrees as a result of an ongoing heatwave across southern Europe, and new outbreaks of the wildfire have been fanned by strong winds.
In a clip shared to TikTok, the mom said flames were terrifyingly close to her hotel and guests were eventually told they had to evacuate.
“We couldn’t breathe or see properly, so we just ran to another hotel,” Amy recalled as she broke down in tears. “We got put on buses to a different hotel.”
Amy said they were repeatedly told to “stay” where they were and the hotel would have everything sorted should they need to leave quickly.
However, things suddenly got worse and the “hotel staff just ran and told us to go”.
Amy claimed that Jet2, the budget British airline they booked their holiday with, “did nothing.”
“They haven’t been in touch with any of us. We were just left at the hotel for dead basically.”
The mother-of-two said they had to walk miles down the road, with fire “just a blaze behind us”.
“I am absolutely traumatized at the fact I was thinking ‘where am I going to take my daughter for her last moments when the fire catches up with us, what will I tell her’, as I was running away and trying to save her life,” Amy said in an Instagram post.
Amy said that she and her baby could have died. @thesoftgirlhandbook/TikTok
She said if it were not for a Greek man who tossed them in the back of his truck, they wouldn’t have survived.
He took them to a beach before rescue boats transported them – along with other stranded tourists – to a nearby school for shelter.
“The gratitude I have in my heart for that man who saved us, I will never put into words,” she said.
“He saved our lives and managing to get on the boats – people were screaming hanging off the sides, children were screaming … and we didn’t know if we’d get on in time.”
Amy said it had been the most traumatizing thing she had been through, before revealing they were now safe in a five-star hotel.
She said fires came terrifyingly close. @thesoftgirlhandbook/TikTok
“Myself, my partner and my daughter survived death 14 hours ago thanks to a Greek man who saved our lives,” she explained.
“We owe him everything. We nearly died and my baby boy was nearly left without his parents and big sister because Jet2 failed to provide us with the necessary safety measures like every other holiday company did for their people,” she claimed.
“Nothing can ever begin to describe the trauma of what we have went through. And I am so grateful to the Greek people who saved our lives and for our strength to fight for our family into safety.”
In an Instagram Story, Amy thanked a Jet2 representative for organizing the hotel they were currently staying in.
Amy was documenting the terrifying ordeal on her Instagram. @thesoftgirlhandbook/TikTok
“Big shout out to Dean who is one of the Jet2 reps in Rhodes who made this happen. I can’t actually believe this nightmare is over,” she said.
The mom, however, did cop backlash after revealing she and her family were the only ones to be treated to the five-star hotel while others continue to find themselves stranded.
“I would just like to clarify it isn’t because of my social media following why my family is now safe,” she hit back.
“It’s because I fought for my f***ing life to be heard and went on Sky News five hours after nearly dying to get my voice heard and my family to safety.
In an Instagram Story, Amy thanked a Jet2 representative for organizing the hotel they were currently staying in. @thesoftgirlhandbook/TikTok
“I was exhausted, crying, terrified, shaking, hadn’t eaten and was so nervous to speak on there but I was thing how can I be heard and get my baby to safety.
“I continually went up to the Jet2 rep telling him ‘you need to save my daughter’. I did not stop. That’s why.”
A total of 12 towns and villages in the center and south of the island have been evacuated, including Lindos, one of the main attractions for travelers with its hilltop Acropolis.
Source: New York Post
