Ticino family fled from inferno on Rhodes: “The flames were still 300 meters from the hotel”

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Lucio Gerna (53) from Lugano has probably had the most dramatic hours of his life. Together with his wife and two daughters, he is currently on the Greek holiday island of Rhodes, where fierce forest fires are raging.

Beach holidays are therefore out of the question. Because the Gerna family had to flee the blazing forest fires on Saturday and are currently waiting for transport back to Switzerland.

Loud argument with the police

“Saturday morning my wife and I explored the south of the island in a rental car,” Gerna tells Blick. His daughters wanted to stay in the hotel.

Around 2 p.m., the couple returned to the hotel. Seeing the countless fire engines in the oncoming lane, the two suspected evil. The return journey ended abruptly as the road to the hotel was closed. The police let no one through. “I then had a loud battle with the officials. After all, we still had our two girls in the hotel,” says Gerna.

Finally she lets the police pass. Back at the hotel, the family immediately starts packing their bags. Down at the reception, Gerna tries to figure out how to proceed. “Suddenly the fire alarm went off.” The reason: the hotel complex was evacuated.

‘The flames were still 300 meters away’

“It was apocalyptic scenes,” Gerna recalls. The flames were about 300 meters from the hotel complex. Buses already stopped in front of the hotel to take the many guests out of the danger zone.

The Gerna family was lucky with their misfortune. With her rental car, she was able to escape on her own, away from the inferno. However, the search for new accommodation became a huge task. “It was always said that the hotels were already full or did not want to accept new guests because of the fires.”

Finally Gerna finds what he is looking for. There was still a room available in a guesthouse on the other side of the island. Gerna did not yet know how to get back to Switzerland from there.

Bitterly disappointed by the Swiss authorities

A telephone call to the Swiss embassy in Athens also yielded nothing new. “I was forwarded to the FDFA. But it was only said that the situation in Rhodes was not considered an emergency at the moment and that the return had to be organized on your own.”

On Sunday morning, the travel agency where Gerna booked her holiday contacted us. A message that gives hope: at 4 o’clock in the morning there is another flight from Rhodes to Milan. It is not yet certain whether the Gerna family will actually sit in the machine. “So far I’ve only been told to be at the airport by midnight.”

For the family, the holidays are definitely in the bucket. Gerna will have one good memory, however: he emphasizes that despite the language barrier, the Greeks were very helpful and hospitable in this emergency situation.

On the other hand, he is disappointed by the Swiss authorities. “We were left here all alone. We had to arrange everything ourselves. I expect Switzerland to contact the local authorities as soon as possible.”

Source: Blick