British holidaymakers were forced to escape by small boats after a wildfire swept across the Croatian island of Brač, with guests claiming hotel staff left them to fend for themselves.
According to tourists staying at the Gava Waterman Milna Resort, the blaze drove them towards the shoreline after they received little or no assistance from the hotel or their holiday company, TUI.
One British visitor described how guests scrambled into the sea as flames spread across the island and threatened the resort.
The stranded holidaymakers were eventually rescued when roughly 50 local boat owners arrived to carry them away from the danger zone.
At around 10pm local time, guests were reportedly told there was no immediate threat and were advised to return to their rooms.
Holidaymakers say staff even encouraged them to “relax with a drink” while the wildfire continued to close in around the resort.
However, just five minutes later, British tourist Josh Robbins went outside and discovered that the flames were approximately 20ft from the hotel.
With the fire advancing and no clear alternative, Mr Robbins and his fiancée made their way down to the beach.
British tourists escaped the wildfire on small boats after the blaze spread across the Croatian island
Guests were driven towards the beach as flames surrounded the hotel resort
Holidaymakers say they received no effective assistance from hotel staff or travel company TUI as the wildfire approached
He alleges that reception workers and other members of staff had already left, while guests were given no evacuation instructions or organised escape plan.
Mr Robbins, 26, told The Sun: “It was terrifying.
“We had to run for our lives as a wall of fire moved towards us, with burning embers raining down around us.
“If we had remained where we were, people could have died. Those little boats were the only reason we got out—it was like Dunkirk.”
Nearly 700 people were evacuated from the Croatian island of Brac on Sunday after a wildfire tore through the holiday destination.
Hundreds of firefighters were reportedly dispatched to help tackle the flames while four firefighting planes operated in the area.
Croatian authorities said that there were no more ‘open flames’ on the island.
The fires are believed to have been triggered by lightning strikes on Thursday. The fire then spread towards Milna in the east of Brac on Friday.
Tourists were only saved after a flotilla of around 50 local boats came and picked up the stranded holidaymakers
A British man has told of how guests at the Gava Waterman Milna Resort leapt into the sea to escape a fire ripping through the island
Despite ash raining down on holidaymakers at the resort, staff insisted that the hotel was safe on Saturday night
Around a third of the guests at the Gava Waterman resort were British.
Despite ash raining down on holidaymakers at the resort, staff insisted that the hotel was safe on Saturday night.
Power was then cut to the entire resort at 9.35pm as panicked tourists began to flee.
But staff had already fled in their cars and the main doors were locked shut – leaving an elderly couple stuck inside the building.
Mr Robbins said: ‘The staff had gone and we couldn’t get out because the sliding glass doors were locked shut – we thought we were going to die.
‘There were dozens of people all trying to get out and we eventually had to prise the doors open to escape.
‘The reception staff had driven off down the resort’s narrow access road but their cars had blocked the route stopping fire appliances reaching us.
‘We realised fire was about to engulf the hotel and decided to run down the path to the wooden dock to the sea to escape.’
A firefighting plane drops water on a wildfire near the town of Milna on the island of Brac, Croatia
Members of the Croatian firefighting service work at the site of a wildfire near the town of Milna
Tourists scrambled to the sea to escape the advancing flames and some leapt into the ocean to avoid getting burnt.
Locals in boats miraculously saved the tourists on the beach at around 11pm. Holiday provider TUI only sent an evacuation message at around 11.30pm, according to Mr Robbins.
British tourist Lorraine Pearce wrote on Facebook: ‘There was no evacuation plan – we all just ran.
‘A couple of guests operated the hoses to keep the path to the beach clear for guests to escape… absolute heroes.
‘Local people were amazing, giving us clothes and blankets offering us rooms to stay. Also local people coming out on their boats. Thank you so much.
‘All guests worked together and we have made friends for life through this.
‘But why did we not get an alarm until we were in rescue boats?’
The rescued British tourists were on a £1,800 a week all-inclusive TUI package holiday to the resort.
They were eventually transferred to the coastal city of Split and no injuries were reported.
A spokesman for TUI said: ‘We know this will have been a distressing experience for those affected by the wildfire on the island of Brac.
‘The safety of our customers is our highest priority and our local teams have been supporting those impacted and working closely with the hotel and local authorities.’
