A Fermanagh woman caught up in wildfires on the eastern coast of Rhodes has spoken of the panic she faced in trying to reach her family back home.

23 -year-old Jayne Monaghan, a student from Tempo is one of thousands of holiday makers caught up in disruption as wildfires engulf the Greek island of Rhodes. She described how she and her friend Sarah, sat in the dark and watched the fire grow larger as they waited on transport to evacuate them from Pefkos in the early hours of Sunday morning, July 23.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter, Jayne who is now back in York where she studies, described how ash fell from the sky and the smell of smoke lingered in the air on the Greek island as wildfires ravaged the island.

As the wildfire grew and electricity and water supplies were cutting out, Jayne described her anxiety at not being able to reach her family at home, she said: “The power was a big problem for me because a lot of my family were getting quite worried, and I couldn’t keep in contact with them to let them know that I was alright.

“That was probably the most anxious part because I knew they were waiting for updates, but my phone had died, and I couldn’t tell them I was alright or what was going on. “

Describing the island as the wildfires grew, she said: “Ash started falling and the smoke was getting so much stronger that you could barely see the village in front of us.

“We also could physically see the fire at that point, but we didn’t hear anything [from Jet2, the holiday provider or hotel] and so lots of people were standing out on the balconies watching the fire.”

Jayne described the nervous atmosphere in the hotel as guests received emergency alerts to their phone telling those in Pefkos to evacuate immediately.

She said: “The atmosphere was very tense at that point because we could all see the fire and because it was so windy it was spreading quickly and we could physically see it getting larger so everyone was really panicking at that point and we couldn’t leave.

Rescue

Jayne and other hotel residents waited some time for a bus to come and rescue them from the hotel to take them to a shelter, Jayne said: “When we asked where we were going the bus driver simply replied, ‘somewhere safe.’ I don’t think he knew where we were going either, it was a bit of a tense journey everyone was silent and we were all just watching the fire and smoke spread.”

The holidaymakers were taken to a shelter at an old school near Old Town Rhodes where they were able to sleep and get some food and water, describing the shelter, Jayne said: “the shelter itself was quiet barely anyone was speaking, and everyone was just trying to find somewhere to sit and sleep.

“The most noise we could hear was the volunteers telling everyone it be okay and children crying every so often.

Water supplies and food were continuously being brought in by the volunteers who had spent all night and all morning contacting businesses. By afternoon on the Sunday, local businesses were bringing in mattresses and the Red Cross had appeared to give medical aid to anyone who needed it.”

Jayne expressed her concern for the future of Rhodes, saying: “I’m incredibly worried, it’s destroyed so much of the local wildlife and it’s burning down local businesses and hotels all across the island.

“As well as impacting the local economy now that all the flights have stopped and there are no more tourists during their peak season.

“The local people were so incredibly kind to us during the crisis, even when it was their homes and livelihoods that were being impacted.

“It’s awful to think that there will be a long-term impact for them.”