A Co Down couple have spoken of the honeymoon they "won't forget" after being caught up in the wildfires raging across the Greek island of Rhodes.
Newlyweds Lee and Rosaleen Ruane from Warrenpoint, who arrived on the island on Tuesday, were rescued by the Greek army in the early hours of Sunday after being stranded on a beach. The Department of Foreign Affairs has warned Irish citizens to stay away from Rhodes.
The couple had been evacuated from their hotel along with thousands of others and had been "led to believe" their accommodation had caught fire.
They were taken to a school at the north end of the island where the threat from fires is less severe.
Mr Ruane, who had been due to stay in Rhodes for a week, said it had been "getting quite scary" on the beach but that the couple now felt much safer.
"We were evacuated from the hotel today about two o'clock and we've had no communication whatsoever from Jet2 (their tour operator), from our hotel, nothing," he told the BBC.
"It's a honeymoon we won't forget, that's for sure."
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Jet2 cancelled five flights to Rhodes, while TUI cancelled all flights there until Wednesday.
Jet2 said it was aware of the situation in Rhodes and was asking customers to follow local guidance.
It said its "in-resort teams are working to comply with the guidance of local authorities".
"The health, safety and wellbeing of our customers will always be our number one priority and we ask any customers in affected areas to follow the advice of the local authorities, or their hoteliers who will be acting under the advice of the authorities,"the statement said.
Travel company TUI said a small number of its hotels had been affected and it was relocating customers to alternative accommodation as a precaution.
The Irish Embassy in Athens has advised all citizens affected by the wildfires to turn on their mobile roaming to receive any alerts from local authorities.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has said it has been contacted by a number of Irish citizens impacted by the wildfires.
In a statement, it advised Irish citizens to be alert and stay away from the affected areas, and to move rapidly out of any areas affected.
"This is an evolving situation, and citizens should comply with evacuation orders and follow the instructions from the emergency services and local authorities," it said.
If citizens are in immediate danger, they are urged to call the Greek Emergency Services on 112. The department said people should turn mobile phones on to roaming, to receive alerts from local authorities.
"If citizens are planning to travel to Rhodes, it is important prior to travel that they check with their travel operator or agency, or their hotel, to see if the area they plan to visit is impacted by the current wildfires and evacuations. There is likely to be travel disruption," the statement said.
Corinne Watson, 42, who is holidaying with her husband and two sons, told the PA news agency she had only received one automated text message from TUI, telling her they were "sorry for any disruptions".
The mother-of-two from Cumbria said: "Our hotel has accepted some evacuees and hosted a few while other accommodation was found.
"Power losses affecting the kitchens has caused chaos but hotel staff are working exceptionally hard to manage the situation - they must be very worried for their island.
"Hotel staff [are] working flat out under desperate worry."
However, she said TUI had offered a "poor service" with no information on whether her area was safe or what to do in the event of an evacuation.
There will be a brief respite in the heatwave on Monday, but it will resume on Tuesday and could last until at least Friday, meteorologists have said.
Firefighting forces from eight EU countries are either operating or due to arrive soon, Mr Artopios said.
Israel, Jordan and Turkey have also sent reinforcements, mostly aerial equipment.
