HOLIDAY 'WARZONE'

Irish family spend the night on school floor with others after fleeing hotel

- PAUL HEALY

AN Irish family say they feel like they are in a “warzone” amid the horror wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes. 

Dubliner Danny Murphy, 38, and his wife and two children travelled to the Greek island last Friday – but the unprecedented blazes have now seen them and 30,000 others moved for their safety over the weekend.

The family, who are from Skerries in North Dublin, were left heartbroken and shocked when the raging wildfires got ever closer to their accommodation at the Finas Hotel in Pefkos on Saturday.

They were then sent an emergency warning on their phones before shuttle buses evacuated them to a school outside of Rhodes – where they since spent the night lying on the floor or on tables with hundreds of other shocked holidaymakers.

“We’re in a crisis centre just outside Rhodes. It’s like a scene from a disaster movie.

“It’s like we are in a warzone,” Danny exclusively told this paper.

“We got a text message from the government that came onto our phones to evacuate.

“There were coaches and the drivers had no idea where they were taking us.

“We were in the dark for about an hour until we arrived at this school. The locals have been so kind, they’ve  left water and brought in food for everyone.”

Describing what it was like fleeing t h e smoke Danny said:

“My wife is asthmatic and she can feel it now in her chest. There was ash falling. It was quite scary. You did get the sense that this isn’t safe here.