The fight against the ongoing forest fires on Greece's Rhodes Island continues. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the island due to the fire. The regions of Laerma and Eleousa on the island are still under threat. Additionally, Turkish aircraft are also assisting in firefighting efforts in the region.
According to a statement made by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment of Greece, this evacuation operation is the largest evacuation operation ever carried out in the country.
Initially confined to the mountainous inland areas of the island, the fires spread to the coastal regions, where luxury hotels are also located, due to strong winds, high temperatures, and dry weather conditions.
Evacuation operations were challenging in some areas of the island as telephone connections were cut off, hampering communication and coordination. According to the Greek press, it was reported that those who were evacuated had spent the night in sports halls, schools, and conference centers, and many panicked tourists had tried to leave the island by going to the Rhodes Airport.
Upon the directive of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a flight crew and firefighting vehicles were sent to Greece's Rhodes Island to combat the fire. Turkish aircraft have carried 414 tons of water to the area so far. According to a statement from the Turkish Embassy in Rhodes, Turkish aircraft conducted 15.5 hours of flight to combat the fire on Rhodes. The statement mentioned, "On Monday, two Turkish firefighting planes combatted the Rhodes fire, completing a total of 15.5 hours of flight and 88 sorties, and dropping a total of 264 tons of water."
President Erdoğan, in his statements after the Cabinet Meeting, said that Türkiye had intervened in the forest fires that broke out in the country with 24 aircraft, 100 helicopters, and 10 drones, in addition to reserve forces.
Erdoğan also reminded that besides the fires in the country, they had rushed to the aid of other countries in need. He stated, "We sent amphibious aircraft and one firefighting helicopter to our neighbor Greece, who is struggling with a major fire. We extend our get-well-soon wishes to the people of Rhodes and our Greek neighbors."
As of now, one T70 firefighting helicopter and two amphibious firefighting aircraft from the General Directorate of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry have been combating the fire in Rhodes, completing a total of 15 hours and 50 minutes of flight. The support aircraft and one helicopter involved in the firefighting efforts in Rhodes have conducted a total of 138 sorties, releasing 414 tons of water to extinguish the fires. In the firefighting operations, a total of 10 helicopters are engaged, including two Turkish, one Croatian, five Greek, and two Egyptian helicopters.
President Erdoğan's message of solidarity made headlines in Greece today. To Vima newspaper featured President Erdoğan's words, "Türkiye is ready to do whatever is necessary to help Greece." It was also mentioned that Miçotakis had thanked Erdoğan for the assistance.
CNN Greece was among the newspapers that had featured President Erdoğan's words on their headlines. CNN reported that Erdoğan had sent a message to the Greek people.
Greek newspaper News Beast also reiterated President Erdoğan's words and stated that Türkiye had made a call for solidarity with its message.
İefimerida also reported that President Erdoğan had expressed readiness to provide assistance and mentioned that both countries would work together in cooperation to address any misunderstandings.
Euro2day also reported that President Erdoğan had conveyed his get-well-soon wishes and stated, "We have no problems with our neighbors that we cannot resolve."
