Rhodes holiday has become a survival exercise - Newmarket family

A pistillate who is holidaying successful Rhodes has said she was "absolutely petrified" amid "falling ash" and "orange skies" arsenic wildfires dispersed crossed the island.

Katie Piercefield-Holmes and her family, from Newmarket successful Suffolk, decided to fastener themselves successful the Princess Andriana edifice successful Kiotari.

She said she had woken up "every fractional hour" connected Saturday nighttime and was packed and acceptable to tally to the beach.

It has been "surreal" and "almost apocalyptic", she added.

Mrs Piercefield-Holmes said it was "like thing retired of a movie, with abandoned suitcases everywhere".

"When the histrion other america caught occurrence I was acceptable to permission and I would have, but my hubby was capable to measure and measure what was champion for our household and the risks of staying arsenic opposed to going.

"So we stayed enactment and present we are precise blessed we made that decision," she said.

Rhodes has been battling wildfires fanned by beardown winds since Tuesday, arsenic Europe deals with a heatwave.

Katie and Brett Piercefield-Holmes, their 2 children, aged 11 and seven, and Mr Piercefield-Holmes' parents, are gathering successful a crushed level country with a pool, arsenic they thought it safer to beryllium adjacent water.

Fire connected the hillside down the Princess Andriana destroyed immoderate of the hotel's buildings, including the kids nine and sports facilities, but 2 different hotels connected the elevation person burned down.

Mrs Piercefield-Holmes said that connected Saturday determination had been "lots of ash coming down successful the nighttime but meal was fine" but "around lunchtime the entity was orangish and brown".

"I went to the gym but erstwhile I got retired determination was carnage successful reception," she said.

"People were rushing around... we heard a section municipality was being evacuated."

She said they received a nationalist alert saying the country was being evacuated and were initially told to permission the hotel.

"We could spot hundreds of radical passing down the formation shouting for water," she said, "We rushed retired to springiness h2o and bedewed towels.

"But determination was heavy fume truthful we decided to fastener ourselves successful alternatively than leave.

"Then the upwind shifted truthful we're gladsome we took that decision."

Mrs Piercefield-Holmes admitted that she was "absolutely petrified" but her husband, who had 20 years of grooming successful the US airforce, said they should enactment and show what was happening.

"We slept successful our apparel successful lawsuit we had to tally and had the curtains open," she said.

The blaze has present "moved good back" and the edifice has told the household to proceed to enactment wherever they are.

"At the infinitesimal we are trying to marque the astir of it for the children," Mrs Piercefield-Holmes said.

She said they had recovered immoderate drinks and a "plate of sandwiches" and "some fruit" but feared what happened next.

She added: "This is not a vacation, it's a endurance exercise.

"My hubby retired successful May and this was expected to beryllium our household vacation to observe his status - it's not turned retired however we envisaged but the main happening is we're safe.

"We consciousness precise atrocious for those who are sleeping connected the level oregon families that person been divided up and we number ourselves rather fortunate."

She said she had received generic messages from circuit relation Jet2, telling them to travel section advice, support their phones connected and telephone the company's helpline if needed.

"I had already done that and been connected clasp for 45 mins," she said, adding she had fixed up and the household were conscionable "sitting it out".

The manager has told them the edifice should beryllium capable to reopen successful a mates of days but things would not beryllium wholly backmost to mean arsenic immoderate buildings person burned down.

"Ideally I'd similar to determination but I'm practical," she said.

"It's highest vacation play and thousands of radical are displaced truthful they won't beryllium capable to relocate us."

Jet2 said its "absolute priority" was the "health, information and wellbeing of customers and colleagues successful the affected area" and it had cancelled each flights and holidays that were owed to depart to Rhodes.

In a connection it added that it was "contacting each customers successful affected areas arsenic rapidly arsenic imaginable by telephone truthful that we tin enactment them with what they need".

"We are sending nonstop communications to affected customers to fto them cognize this, and to punctual them of our 24/7 Customer Helpline number."

It added that the concern was "under changeless review".