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'Apocalyptic' scenes in Greece as wildfires tear through islands and 'turn the sky black with smoke' forcing holidaymakers to be evacuated after a prolonged drought turns the popular tourist destinations of Chios and Kos into a 'tinderbox'
Britons are stranded on boats while others have been loaded onto coaches and evacuated from their hotels after wildfires tore through the Greek islands and 'turned the sky black with smoke'.
The popular tourist destinations of Chios and Kos have been turned into a 'tinderbox' after a prolonged drought and dry weather caused infernos with strong winds fanning the flames.
Two firefighters battling the blazes on the eastern Aegean islands have been injured while Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis today warned holidaymakers further blazes this summer could be 'particularly dangerous'.
Thick plumes of black smoke have filled the sky in what one Brit described as 'apocalyptic' scenes with tourists being pinged emergency alerts on their phones to relocate.
Helicopters and planes have been 'constantly' flying overhead dumping gallons of water to combat the raging wildfires as firefighters travel on boats from the nearby island of Lesbos and Athens to tackle the flames.
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Lottie Westerling (pictured second from the right with her friend Kemi) is 'stranded' on a boat in the Mediterranean after fleeing her hotel in Kos
The popular tourist destinations of Chios and Kos have been turned into a 'tinderbox' after a prolonged drought and dry weather caused infernos with strong winds fanning the flames
Clare Smith, 38, is on holiday in Kos with her husband and nine-year-old daughter and was told coaches were making their way to her hotel located outside the resort town of Kardamena to pick them up.
Mrs Smith, from Edinburgh, told Sky News the sky being covered in smoke was like being 'in the apocalypse, or some sort of war film'.
Lottie Westerling is on her first trip abroad with her pals and was forced to flee her hotel in Kos. They are currently 'stranded' on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea.
They were earlier evacuated to a beach 'where there are police officers here' and told to board the boats bobbing on the waters as it was too dangerous to stay standing on the sands.
But she said 'we don't really know if or where we are going at the moment so we are stranded on the boat'.
Talking to Sky News she described seeing orange lights in the distance getting bigger as the winds got stronger as she said: 'It's very bonfirey.'
Emergency services issued evacuation orders for those in the Metohi area of western Chios this morning, urging them to head to a nearby beach.
One Briton described the sky being filled with black smoke was like being 'in the apocalypse, or some sort of war film'
KERATEA -- Smoke rises from a house during a wildfire in Keratea region near Athens
KERATEA -- People cover their faces as they run from a wildfire
STAMATA -- Firefighters try to extinguish a wildfire in the region
STAMATA -- A volunteer stands on a roof as flames rise from a wildfire burning behind
STAMATA -- A firefighter stands near to a raging inferno
KERATEA -- Smoke rises from a destroyed house as a wildfire burns near Athens, June 30
KERATEA -- Flames rise next to a house as a wildfire burns, June 30
KERATEA -- Firemen and helicopters try to control a large wildfire. Many homes were evacuated and houses were burnt during the wildfire that took place
STAMATA -- A volunteer tries to extinguish a wildfire burning near Athens, June 30
By the evening, more than 140 firefighters, along with eight teams of firefighters specialising in wildfires, seven water-dropping planes and three helicopters were fighting the blaze.
Fire department spokesman Vasilis Vathrakoyiannis said two firefighters had been 'lightly' injured, while dozens more firefighters were heading to Chios by boat from the nearby island of Lesbos and from Athens.
'The situation remains difficult in Chios, and all Civil Protection forces will make great efforts to limit it,' Vathrakoyiannis said during an evening briefing.
Another fire that broke out further to the south in the Aegean, on the island of Kos, had improved by Monday evening, although there were still some areas that were continuing to burn, Vathrakoyiannis said.
That blaze was being tackled by more than 100 firefighters, including reinforcements sent from Athens, as well as six water-dropping planes and two helicopters, he added.
In total, Greece saw 52 wildfires breaking out in the previous 24 hour period, 44 of which were tackled in the early stages, Vathrakoyiannis said.
Authorities were still battling a total of eight fires by Monday evening.
The blazes come a day after the fire department managed to tame two large forest fires near Athens that had been fanned by strong winds.
'We have had an exceptionally difficult June regarding weather conditions, with high levels of drought and unusually strong winds for this season,' Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Monday during a Cabinet meeting.
STAMATA -- A firefighter and volunteers try to extinguish a wildfire, June 30
STAMATA -- Firefighters battle the flames in the region near to the Greek capital
KERATEA -- A firefighting helicopter flies over a firefighter and volunteers trying to extinguish a wildfire, June 30
KERATEA -- A helicopter sprays water above a military camp during a wildfire
KERATEA -- People try to extinguish a wildfire with a branch
KERATEA -- A firefighter works to extinguish a burning wildfire
KERATEA -- Black plumes of smoke billow into the air, June 30
KERATEA -- A firefighter looks on as smoke rises as flames take hold of a tree
KERATEA -- Firefighting helicopters dump gallons of water to fight the blaze
STAMATA -- A firefighter looks on as they try to extinguish the flames
KERATEA -- A destroyed home is seen amidst a burnt area
This year's summer, he said, 'is predicted to be particularly dangerous' for wildfires.
Mitsotakis said the use of drones as part of an early warning system for wildfires had been particularly useful this year and credited better coordination between authorities and volunteer firefighters for limiting the extent of fire damage so far.
'We are entering the tough core of the anti-fire period, and this will certainly not be won without the help of the public as well, particularly in the field of prevention,' Mitsotakis said.
Hot, dry weather combined with strong winds helped fan fires in both Greece and Turkey last month. This year's summer is expected to be particularly prone to blazes following a particularly mild, dry winter. Last year, extensive wildfires in Greece killed more than 20 people.
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