Tourists escaped from Greece's hellish wildfires when helicopters dumped water to clear a path through the flames

• Tourists escaped wildfires burning in Greece thanks to helicopters dumping water to clear a path.
• One British traveler told Sky News of how he fled from what he compared to scenes out of "Dante's Inferno."

As hellish wildfires raged on the Greek island of Rhodes during a heatwave scorching southern Europe, tourists managed to escape the blazes thanks to helicopters that dumped water to clear a way out through the high flames.

British traveler Duncan Kemp told Sky News that his escape was like a scene out of "Dante's Inferno."

Kemp described "uncontrollable scenes as people scrambled to get on coaches — kids screaming and crying and parents much the same."

The tourist told Sky News that he and others were waiting for the evacuation buses to arrive at Lindian Village beach resort in Rhodes when the flames suddenly "jumped the road and began to burn in front of reception."

A helicopter hosing water on the flames from above managed to clear a passage to safety for the fleeing tourists, Kemp said.

Kemp told the news outlet that hotel staff took Kemp and others in their own cars away from the flames when spaces on the buses filled up.

"The sky turned dark, the sun was blotted out and turned blood red, and it became obvious that something was not right," Kemp said.

UK couple Damien and Karen Townsend told Sky News that they and their young children also had to race away from flames on Rhodes.

"It was roaring towards us and at that point, I thought 'We're dead,' " Damien said, adding, "It was coming so fast and the flames were half the size of a house — like 12 feet. We were just terrified."

As they ran, helicopters dropped water on the blazes from overheard, the father said. The family flew out of Rhodes on Sunday.

The fires burning on Rhodes — a popular travel destination — since last week have forced the evacuation of some 19,000 people over the weekend.

"We are at war — completely focused on the fires," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament on Monday, according to the Associated Press.

The UK government said that up to 10,000 British nationals are still stuck on the Greek island, the news outlet reported.

Meanwhile, more than 2,000 people on the Greek Island of Corfu had to be evacuated as a result of wildfires there.