British tourists evacuated from parts of Crete as fierce wildfires rip through Greek holiday island

A favourite getaway spot among British tourists, emergency alerts have sounded on mobile phones overnight as the severity of the fires increased.

Authorities have now issued evacuation orders for multiple areas of the island, including across Achlia, Agia Fotia, Galini, Ferma, and Koutsounari.

A number of X users in the region have reported emergency alerts being triggered on their devices, sharing images of their phone screens and messages written in Greek alerting them to the danger.

Images from the region show walls of fire engulfing large areas of the island, with fires spreading rapidly across Greece - including in the Varvaro region of Halkidiki.

The fires comes as Crete is set to expecte highs of 29C today according to the Met Office, with temperatures soaring to highs of 37C on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Speaking as evacuations got underway, a civil official described it as "a very difficult situation".

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"The fire is very hard to contain. Right now, they cannot contain it,” Nektarios Papadakis, a civil protection official told the Associated Press.

“The tourists who were moved out are all ok. They have been taken to an indoor basketball arena and hotels in other regions of the island.”

According to the Foreign Office website, there is a high risk of wildfires during Greece's summer season from April to October.

Brits are encouraged to ensure that mobile phones are registered to receive emergency alerts for wildfires in the region.

Wildfire risks increase during the summer as tourists enjoy the rising temperatures with barbecues and the lighting of cigarettes.

LBC has contacted the British Foreign Office for comment.

The fires come as what's been described as a “heat dome” continues to sit over continental Europe.

The area of high pressure has seen temperatures across Europe soar, with areas of Spain, Italy and Greece all seeing the mercury soar - increasing the chances of ferocious wildfires in these areas.

Dr Akshay Deoras, from the University of Reading, has said the heat dome - whose centre currently centred on Denmark, with the UK on its western edge - is “bringing stable, mostly cloudless weather and drawing in hot, dry air from the south”.

At least four elderly people have been taken to hospital with respiratory problems caused by smoke inhalation according to reports.

Hospitals on the island have been placed on alert by health authorities, according to reports.

As of Wednesday night, 155 firefighters, eight specialised foot teams, and 38 fire engines took part in attempts to bring the fire under control.

Four helicopters also carried out water drops overnight to halt the flames.