Live. Corfu evacuated amid 'nightmare' wildfires in Greece

Kelly Squirrel was on holiday in Rhodes when police ordered her to evacuate her hotel.

"We had to walk non-stop. We walked for about six hours in the heat", she told AFP after arriving at Rhodes international airport.

Another British tourist Kevin Sales described the situation as "terrible".

"We had to lend a woman my wife's clothes because she had nothing to wear," the English engineer told AFP.

At dawn on Monday morning, two helicopters and two water bombers resumed their operations to support the firefighters on the island, which was engulfed in flames for the seventh consecutive day.

In nearby Corfu, the authorities warned residents and holidaymakers in a number of small towns to leave their homes "as a precaution" via a mobile phone alert. [AFP] 

Firefighters struggled through the night to contain 82 wildfires across Greece - 64 of which started on Sunday. Read more at our story here: 

Theofanis Skembris, the deputy mayor of North Corfu, has said that most fires on the island are under control. 

"The situation on the island is better now," he told the British BBC. "Most of the fires are under control. There are firefighting airplanes helping. I believe that everything will be over soon."

The official claimed fires were started deliberately, saying the fire department's "unofficial assumption is that it was arson - fires can't start simultaneously in four different places."

However, he said an investigation was first needed. 

The British government says it has sent a "rapid deployment team" to help its nationals on Rhodes. 

On Twitter, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said their "safety is our top priority", adding UK officials were in "close contact" with their Greek counterparts. 

Some 19,000 people have been evacuated from