Shropshire couple in Greek wildfire drama
Wednesday 4th August 2010, 6:30PM BST.
A Shropshire couple today told how they were forced to flee as raging wild fires swept across a Greek island during their dream holiday in the sun.
Chris and Lynette Williams were among 600 tourists, hotel staff and residents who were evacuated from their hotel on the Greek Island of Samos on Monday.
But the family from Leebotwood, near Church Stretton, even managed to keep their blog updated as the drama unfolded.
The couple are due to arrive back in the UK tomorrow.
Early reports show that more than 150 firefighters and volunteers were drafted in to try and contain the fire.
Mrs Williams said last night that the fire had been dealt with and things were returning to normal.
She said: “It was a bit scary at one point. We certainly have a very different set of holiday photographs.”
The couple used their blog to keep their friends and family informed of the drama.
They wrote: “We along with around 600 other tourists, staff and local inhabitants were moved upwind of the fires in a fleet of buses to the port of Ormos, where we congregated waiting for instructions until around 22.30.
“The island is, of course, already almost at capacity so finding alternate accommodation for a whole resorts worth of tourists stretched on late into the night.”
The family had to grab their passports and flee upwind as the blaze spread towards their hotel.
They discovered later that the fire came within feet of the complex, showering the area with ash and debris.
On their blog they wrote: “One must congratulate the staff for an amazing clean up job, as when we left hurriedly about this time yesterday the ash was choking everything in thick layers.”
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