HUNDREDS of British holidaymakers have been evacuated from a Greek island after forest fires swept through the area.

More than 2,000 tourists from across Europe were moved to safe areas from hotels in the south of Rhodes, which has been declared by the Foreign Office as being in a sate of emergency as fire services battle to contain the blaze.

Over 300 First Choice customers were moved from the Kiotari Bay Hotel to avoid smoke pouring from the burning forests nearby.

A spokesperson for tour operator Tui said: “There are forest fires 3km from the resort of Kiotari. As a precautionary measure, due to smoke, we evacuated 324 First Choice customers to Glistra Beach until the smoke disperses.

“Experts believe that should be a couple of hours, but if that changes we would have to review the situation. It is being monitored closely by our resort management team, working in co-operation with the local authorities.

“We have a lot of resort staff with the customers at the moment. The hotel itself has not been directly affected by the fire.”

Another 12 customers whose apartments were further from the fires were given the option of moving to the beach area.

France, Italy and Cyprus are sending firefighting aircraft to help tackle the blaze, which has burned thousands of acres of forest in the popular destination.

A Thomas Cook spokesman said two of its customers had been moved from an apartment in the Kiotari area.

The firm said in a statement: “The safety of our holidaymakers is of the utmost importance and we continue to monitor the forest fires in Rhodes. As a precautionary measure, a small number of Thomas Cook guests have been moved to alternative accommodation.”

Kiotari is close to Lindos and Pefkos, which are popular destinations for British tourists, and the area is home to several resorts.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said it had received no information to suggest any Britons had been hurt as a result of the fire.

In an advice statement, it said: “The island is currently in a state of emergency and fire services are battling to prevent the fire from spreading further. You should contact your local tour operator or hotel for further information.”

A spokesman for the Federation of Tour Operators said hotels had well-rehearsed contingency plans in place.

“Sadly, it’s not uncommon at this time of year to get forest fires in parts of Greece and Spain, so operators are pretty well geared-up to deal with it. The standard contingency plan is to move people to safe areas with other tourist accommodation, if it becomes necessary."

A spokeswoman for the 400-room Kiotari Bay Hotel said they are hoping guests will be able to return around 2pm local time this afternoon.

“We sent all the guests away due to the smoke, not because we were afraid. There wasn’t any risk of fire but due to the smoke we decided it would be better for the guests to be moved. We talked to travel agents and found some rooms for them in the area.”

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