Five British tourists rescued after motorboat dramatically explodes off coast of Greek island

15 August 2023, 20:38

A group of Brits has been rescued after their boat spectacularly exploded while they cruised across the coast of a Greek island.

The holidaymakers were jaunting around the coast of Zakynthos when the incident occurred - with one of the five British nationals reportedly suffering burns in the subsequent blaze.

The incident took place around 250 feet from the shore of the Greek island - forcing another vessel to get involved in the rescue.

Read More: Conservatives rage at 'pathetic' French measures to stop migrants' small boats reaching Channel

The second boat was on hand and immediately aided the stranded passengers and then took them back to shore.

A massive fireball and billowing smoke was seen spouting from the vessel into the blue Mediterranean sky after the explosion.

In a clip filmed of the debacle, the resultant fire can be seen spreading amongst the vessel which can be seen to sink into the ea.

Greek authorities confirmed that the vessel sank completely after the footage was filmed.

It is the latest setback for British tourists after hundreds abroad wee caught up in a series of wildfires in the Hellenic republic earlier this year.

Around 15 per cent of land of Rhodes was affected by recent wildfires, though the situation is now back to normal, according to Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Despite the problems, Brits who were forced to flee burning Rhodes this summer will be offered a free holiday on the Greek island next year, the country's prime minister has said.

Mr Mitsotakis said his government will now work with local authorities to offer a week's holiday in compensation for those whose holiday was cut short by the wildfires.

"Next spring, the next fall, so that we make sure they come back to the island and enjoy its natural beauty," he said.

Around 20,000 tourists were forced to flee the Greek island, as were thousands of locals, after multiple fires broke out on July 18 amid soaring temperatures.

Multiple airlines started operating strict emergency-only flights due to the wildfires, leading to many more holidaymakers having their holidays cancelled.

In one instance, an EasyJet pilot urged them to get off the plane heading for Rhodes, telling them their holiday was a "terrible idea".

The pilot made the last-ditch attempt to warn holidaymakers against travelling to Rhodes as the flight prepared to take off from Gatwick.

Fires raged across Europe in one of the hottest months ever recorded on Earth

There were 37 British holidaymakers on board, who were told by the captain that it was a "bad idea" to carry on with their journey.