Ian Murison, from London, has been speaking to Sky News from his rescue boat after leaving where he and his family were staying in the Kiotari area of Rhodes.
“I can only describe it as almost a movie experience where everyone’s looking into the sky as it got a very strange orange colour, and everybody was just looking around going, ‘what’s going on?’.”
He explained how his family walked down the road for around five kilometres and managed to get a ride to nearby Gennadi beach.
Mr Murison said his family were told boats were on their way to collect them, triggering a rush of people to a nearby car park.
“It was literally like the end of the world,” he said.
“And the flames were now far more visible because of course it’s night-time and we couldn’t see that during the day.
“Suddenly there were leaping flames into the sky, and the sky was completely orange in the distance – so that sort of set about a level of panic.”
Foreign secretary: ‘Safety of British Nationals is our top priority’
In a brief update on the situation in Rhodes last night, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly advised people on the island to monitor updates from the foreign office.
“The safety of British Nationals is our top priority,” he said on Twitter.
“I encourage those in Rhodes, and those with family and friends there, to continue checking FCDO travel advice for updates.”
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