Tragedy in Greece: Honeymoon in Flames

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0:33It's Monday, July the 23rd, 2018. In the coastal town of Mati, located some 30 kilometers east of Athens on the Greek mainland, the temperature has been rising steadily throughout the morning. By noon, it's pushing 40 degrees centigrade, over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The streets are quiet, the atmosphere soporific, as people take refuge from the heat inside their shuttered houses or sip coffee in the shade of local tavernas. Nestled against a picture-perfect backdrop of rolling scrub hills, a beautiful villa gleams in the glaring sunshine, the fierce light casting dappled patterns through the smooth, clear waters of the property's private pool.

1:21The air echoes with a gentle hum of cicadas and a warm, pine-scented wind blows through the open door from the terrace into the house. Inside is a haven of cool, calm darkness, the only sound coming from the rhythmic, ceaseless whir of the air conditioning. Upstairs, in the master bedroom, a newly married couple in their forties lie sleeping beneath a thin cotton sheet, having been driven inside by the ferocious midday sun. This is Zoe Holohan and her husband of just four days, Brian O 'Callaghan Westrop. It's the beginning of their honeymoon, and they're making the most of the chance to relax and unwind in their stunning surroundings.

2:10After an hour or two, Brian stirs and wakes, then rolls out of bed and walks down the stairs, not waking his sleeping wife. Zoe remains lost in peaceful slumber. Until, seconds later, she hears Brian screaming her name. His voice had such a tone of urgency that obviously I woke up with a shock. Dazed, Zoe scrambles out of bed and heads towards Brian. Whatever is happening, it's clearly an emergency. She runs to the top of the stairs. The weirdest things go through your mind in these scenarios, because I remember being at the top of the stairs and it was a steep wooden staircase and I remember thinking, Jesus Christ, Zoe, don't fall down the stairs.

2:58Because if you fall down the stairs, that'd be the worst thing if you broke a limb on your honeymoon. Little did I know it was going to get a hell of a lot worse than that. Clinging gingerly to the handrail, her bare feet braced against the wooden treads, Zoe makes her way down the precarious staircase as fast as possible, unsure of what awaits her. When she reaches the bottom, she finds Brian almost in a trance, staring in horror at the view out of the open terrace door. Zoe follows his gaze. And what she sees is the stuff of nightmares. In that moment, it was like just Brian snapped out of it and ran to shut the door and told me to do the same with the back door.

3:41I ran to the back door and closed that tomb. So we realized we had minutes, if not seconds, to get the hell out of there.

3:56Ever wondered what you would do when disaster strikes? If your life depended on your next decision, could you make the right choice? Welcome to Real Survival Stories. These are the astonishing tales of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations. People suddenly forced to fight for their lives. In this episode, we meet Zoe Holan. In July 2018, she and her husband Brian travelled to Greece to enjoy a relaxing honeymoon, having tied the knot just days before. But what should be one of the happiest times of their lives soon morphs into a horror story right before their eyes, when Zoe and Brian wake from a siesta and find themselves trapped in one of the worst natural disasters in the country's recent history.

4:43You know, we were on honeymoon, we were happy and we could finally get to unwind. And then, of course, we woke up the following day on July 23rd, and it all went terribly, terribly wrong from there.

4:58Racing against time, the couple face a desperate scramble to escape before it's too late. But despite their best efforts, it seems that fate is set against them, as they encounter hurdle after hurdle, and safety continues to elude them. How much bad luck can two people endure before tragedy finally strikes? It's, in my opinion, a miracle actually anybody got out of there alive. What happened next was absolutely catastrophic. I'm John Hopkins. From the Noiser Podcast Network, this is Real Survival Stories.

6:02It's Sunday, July the 22nd, 2018. The sun hangs like a blazing disk of gold over the eastern coast of Attica, the peninsula in the heartland of Greece. Here, dusty hills dotted with tall pines and gnarled olive trees give way to the tranquil waters of the Aegean. This is an area steeped in history and culture, and has become a prime destination for holidaymakers, its proximity to Athens making it ideal for international tourists. In the bustling seaside town of Mati, just up the coast from the port of Rufina, a hire car trundles along narrow, labyrinthine streets. Inside, newly married couple Zoe Hollahan and Brian O 'Callaghan Westrop scan their surroundings, squinting into the dazzling sunlight as they search for the villa they have booked for their honeymoon.

6:57Eventually the building comes into sight. Brian and Zoe drive through the tall electric gate that guards its driveway, then park up outside the property. Here, they are greeted by the villa's owner, who gives them a tour and supplies helpful information for their stay. In addition to providing restaurant recommendations and directions to local attractions, she also warns them that the area can be prone to power cuts and gives instructions on how to manually open the gate if the electricity fails. The villa is everything Zoe and Brian could have hoped for, and tops off the magical wedding they enjoyed three days earlier back home in Ireland.

7:38So we had our family and we had our closest friends there. We went to a beautiful place, a place called Clonobrini House. It was an outdoor wedding in a rose garden. And it was extraordinarily special. But it's hard to talk about. Because that happened on July the 19th, 2018. And four days later, our lives were obliterated.

8:04Now in their 40s and having both been married before Zoe and Brian are open about how lucky they are to have found each other They met via a dating website four years earlier When Zoe was on the verge of giving up after a string of disappointing matches But with Brian, things were different So Brian had a very interesting buyer And he seemed like an intelligent guy He lived quite close to where I lived. So we agreed to meet one afternoon for coffee. I guess you could say what began as a coffee date turned into lunch, turned into sitting there until the cafe closed. It was around six or seven in the afternoon evening.

8:44And we were getting on so well that we just extended the date. We toddled off to a local bar and decided to have a bite to eat and a few drinks there. And immediately we just hit it off. I kind of thought to myself, right, finally, that doozy date run has ended. The instant spark between Zoe and Brian soon blossomed into a much deeper connection. Beyond the physical attraction, there were aspects to his personality that immediately I found attractive. He was world-wise. He was deeply respectful, gentlemanly. He had a bit of a spirit of adventure about him. He liked to travel. But if I were going to describe him now, as I got to know him, I think the essence of Brian was he was a truly kind man.

9:33He spent an awful lot of his spare time working in charities. There's a service in Ireland called Blood Bikes. Brian loved his motorbikes. And Blood Bikes basically is a free of charge service where certain bikers travel all across the country with emergency medical supplies. Sometimes it could be a heart transplant, a lung. It could be bloods. and he would do this just because he wanted to help people.

10:05A couple of months after their first date, Brian and Zoe moved in together. Just over two years later, they were engaged. For Zoe, who was working in a high-powered media job, this new and happy chapter came after a period when things weren't always easy. I worked in advertising and sales and newspapers. Really, media was my world when I was younger. I worked in a very high-pressured industry where you had to be an Oscar-winning actress or actor and never show weakness and never show pressure or burnout and continually put that smiling face forward. I'm sure not the only person that felt like they had to do that in the corporate world, but in the quiet times, I was seeking out therapy, and I really badly needed help to cope with some of those high-pressure times.

10:57Back then, I told nobody, not even my closest friends, that I was struggling. When I was with Brian, certainly we could talk about those things, but that was a later stage when I pretty much got, if you want to put it this way, my mental health act together.

11:15Zoe's struggles have been hard. However, they've also created a steely core of resilience and determination within her. In my 20s, 30s and 40s, I would have had spells of depression, anxiety, and I definitely suffered from panic attacks in my 40s. So I guess you might say that working through those, either in the guise of therapy or just sheer peddling through them, probably helped create some inner strength in me. I would also say, much to the irritation of a lot of my friends, I'm extraordinarily stubborn by nature. But I actually, I deem that an advantage because I don't give up very easily.

12:08After the villa owner leaves, Brian and Zoe settle into their accommodation and spend some time exploring their surroundings and stocking up on supplies. As the sun dips below the horizon and the soft shadows of evening set in, the beauty of the area washes over them. The following morning marks the first real day of their honeymoon. They enjoy a long lie, then eat brunch in the garden before relaxing by the pool as the temperature slowly starts to rise. It was extraordinarily hot. We were looking at our phones, we were checking the temperature and I believe it had got up to 40 by noon, 40 degrees.

12:46It was exceptionally hot. We'd jump in the pool to cool off, and then no sooner that you're out again, you'd be exhausted by the heat. Between refreshing dips in the clear blue water, the couple discuss their recent wedding and make plans for the rest of their two-week honeymoon. They also take time to phone Brian's mother. It's her birthday today. She's in the middle of a celebratory lunch, so the conversation is short but affectionate. After that, we did the nerdy thing of changing our Facebook status to married. We were like a pair of teenagers on a countdown, three, two, one. We giggled about it.

13:24And then the heat just got too much. This would have been just around lunchtime. The heat got too much.

13:34Forced inside by the fierce midday sun, Zoe and Brian head into the refreshing, air-conditioned darkness of the villa for a siesta, leaving the terrace doors open to try and get some airflow through the house. They stretch out lazily on their bed. The soft, cool sheets are welcome relief to their sun-warmed skin. It isn't long before both are fast asleep. An hour or two passes, and outside, the temperature continues to climb. Sometime in the early afternoon, Brian stirs and blinks his eyes open. Beside him, Zoe is still asleep. Brian pads downstairs, not disturbing her. But just a few seconds later, his voice jolts her from her dreams.

14:23I woke up in the bed with my bikini bottom still on and Brian screaming from downstairs, telling me to get up. And his voice had such a tone of urgency that obviously I woke up with a shock. Zoe lurches out of bed and down the steep wooden staircase taking care not to fall. At the bottom of the stairs a wave of heat engulfs her. Far more savage than anything one would expect from the afternoon sun. Still fuzzy she blinks and her eyes lock on Brian who is standing transfixed staring out of the open terrace door. Confused Zoe follows his gaze. and then her heart drops. Brian was just standing there, like he was in a trance, and the whole side of the garden, the whole area that we'd just come in from, the pool, was just filled with flames.

15:28Zoe and Brian stare in disbelief at the fire raging outside the villa, in the very place where just hours before they were relaxing. Revelling in the glorious Greek sunshine on the first real day of their honeymoon. Now the greenery of the garden is gone, subsumed by an orange inferno. The sight is surreal. Waves of heat roll into the air-conditioned villa through the open terrace door, and already a miasma of smoke is starting to fill the house. Suddenly, Brian snaps out of his chance-like state and lunges to close one set of doors, telling Zoe to do the same at the back of the house. She runs, bare feet slapping against the tiles, pulse drumming in her ears.

16:16When she reaches the back door, the true severity of their situation is immediately clear. The whole back garden and the hills behind, of which we could have a view from the back of the house, were totally on fire. So we realised now we had minutes, if not seconds, to get the hell out of there. Still, wearing nothing but her bikini, Zoe bolts upstairs to throw on some clothes and grab her handbag. There is no telling where they might end up, and having a few key essentials could make all the difference. I made sure I had the wallets, the passports, our keys, our wedding rings, and that was it.

16:53And I just threw on a dress, this long white dress that I'd chosen specifically for the honeymoon. And I threw on this pair of webbed wedge sandals, all new, all beautiful. but I thought the long dress might be a good idea. I don't know what I was thinking. I thought the long dress might be a good idea if we encountered fire. Seconds later, Zoe is back downstairs. Then she and Brian are running out of the villa towards the car. Exiting the building is like stepping into a furnace. Instantly, they are engulfed in a powerful rush of raw, brutal heat and enveloped in thick clouds of smoke and ash.

17:32Coughing and spluttering, they race across the drive to their hire car, yank open the doors and throw themselves inside. They're just in time. Outside the car were like these little whirling tornadoes of burning debris. We'd actually stepped into hell. The heat was unbelievable, but we were inside the car. And, you know, there was this small moment, this split second where I thought, yeah, we're going to get out of here. We're going to be OK. okay, we're in the car, we're going to zoom out at this. And the car will protect us from the flames.

18:08There's no time to lose. Brian grabs the key fob for the electric gate at the bottom of the drive and jams his thumb down on the buzzer. The gate doesn't move. Alarmed, he presses the button again, but nothing happens. We tried to open the buzzer on the gate and the gate wouldn't budge. and then we realised, Jesus Christ, the electricity has been cut off. They're trapped. When Zoe and Brian arrived the day before, the villa's owner warned them about the potential for power cuts in this area and left them an Allen key to manually unlock the gate if needed. But the key is back inside. Brian ran back into the house, told me to stay in the car to get the Allen key.

18:56I mean, this is all so time sensitive because every second counts. Ran in, eventually he found it. It could have been seconds. It felt like hours. And he came back out. Now, at this stage, the flames were pretty much surrounding the car. Brian got to the gate and wasted crucial, crucial minutes trying everything to winch open this bloody gate. I got out of the car. I had to get out his side because the passenger side was now surrounded by flames. and tried to help them open, and we just couldn't open the gate.

19:34Zoe and Brian fumble with the Allen key, hauling at the gate as the heat builds mercilessly at their backs. But it's no use. They whirl around, searching for any other exit. As they do so, they see that their car has been swallowed by the fire. Even if they could open the gate now, there's no way they can get back in their vehicle. Their only choice is to scale the three-meter-high gate and make a run for it on foot. Losing no time, Zoe bunches up her long white dress and Brian pushes her up. She clambers over the top of the barrier, then tumbles down the other side. She lands hard on the ground, her new wedged sandals colliding with the concrete as her left leg twists at an unnatural angle.

20:22Searing pain stabs through her knee. I landed badly because of the wedge shoes and I dislocated my kneecap, my patella slipped out of place and that hurt. But when you're in a state of panic like that, your body handles pain in a different way. I registered it, but I ignored it. Seconds later, Brian lands beside Zoe and they scramble awkwardly to their feet. The couple stare at each other. They've overcome the first hurdle, but their survival is far from assured. I remember looking at him and holding his hands and begging him and saying, are we going to survive? And, you know, Brian was the sort of man who'd never lie.

21:07I don't think he was capable of telling a lie, so he just looked me in the eyes and he said, we're going to be OK. We're going to be OK. And now we have to run. Hand in hand, Zoe and Brian race up the main road, throats dry, the taste of ash on their tongues. But after just a few hundred meters, they run into a huge, impenetrable wall of fire. Having only arrived the day before, the couple haven't got their bearings yet. With their path now blocked, they turn and head back downhill in what they assume is the direction of the sea. If they can reach the water, they may stand a chance. But with the fire intensifying every minute, that is no guarantee.

21:53We'd literally just jumped from the frying pan into the fire, quite literally. It was like Dante's Inferno, everywhere, everywhere around us were just walls of fire. It's hard to describe the level of heat. Every breath we took, it was like swallowing acid. It literally burned every single breath, so we were almost trying not to breathe. Our eyes were streaming the darkness. We might as well have been stepping out into the middle of the night. It was that dark, and the smoke was that thick, and the only flashes of light were from red, raw flames all around us. It was so painful to breathe, but we had to keep moving.

22:36Stumbling, Zoe and Brian press on through the smoky, red-tinged hellscape, focusing only on reaching the sanctuary of the sea and the safety of its deep blue waters. The roar of the fire is so deafening they can barely hear each other speak. With streaming eyes, they scan their surroundings as they run, trying not to get disorientated in the ashy gloom. And then something materializes out of the darkness ahead of them. A figure. We bumped into this woman who just kind of was like a specter who came out of the smoke. From nowhere. She spoke English and she basically told us, you can't go down there.

23:15There's no way to pass. The trees are down and the trees are on fire. Seconds later, the woman vanishes again into the smoke. With their planned escape route now cut off, Zoe and Brian have no choice but to turn back up the hill once more and hope they can veer off onto a side road. Before they have a chance to go far, Zoe suddenly feels heat rising up her legs. I looked down and I realised my dress was on fire. The fabric was just easing into my legs. It was like my flesh was being eaten by flames and it was absolute agony. Brian immediately lunges for Zoe's dress, beating at the heavy embroidered fabric with his bare hands.

24:01By the time the fire is extinguished, his palms are scorched and badly blistered and Zoe's legs are throbbing with pain. In any normal circumstances, they'd take a moment to stop and assess the damage. But there is no time. Chests heaving, they stumble onwards, gasping down the dry, smoke-choked air. Around them, the fire devours everything in its path. As they run, Zoe and Brian squint into the darkness, trying to find any way out of the blaze. and then their eyes alight on a huddle of figures emerging from the gloom. The figures are small, alarmingly so. There was like a clearing in the smoke and in front of us were five tiny children.

24:50One was even in a nappy. And at the time, if you'd asked me, I wouldn't have been able to tell you whether there were three, four or five children. All we saw was this little bundle of little people standing there with no one around them. and your instincts immediately as adults take over. So we ran to them and we just scooped them up in our arms, not knowing what the hell we were going to do with these kids or where we were going to go. And then again, out of nowhere, out of the smoke, came this car. Perhaps the couple's luck has finally changed. A small, decrepit car clangs to a halt beside them.

25:25Inside are three adults, their faces taut with fear and urgency. Zoe and Brian don't hesitate for a moment We opened the back door and we just threw the kids in the car And then we realised there's no room for us It was a small car So we begged them to open the boot, which they did And Brian and I climbed in And then the car took off at a serious speed Wedged into the boot Zoe and Brian do their best to hold the cover shut as they jolt along the bumpy roads. But there isn't enough room for it to close completely. All they can do is cling onto the car and to each other, trying to avoid being thrown out of the vehicle as it tears through the darkness.

26:12But the fire is close behind them. And I used my left hand to hold onto the boot to try and pull the boot over us, but because we couldn't close it shut fully, but as we were doing so, the flames were just stilling the boot. They were coming in. My hair, I had long hair extensions from the wedding and my hair had totally gone on fire at this stage and was just eating my face. I can remember feeling that my eye, my left eye, was just beginning to close. And my dress was on fire again. So that's how quickly these flames were lipping in on top of us. And my hand was welded to the boot, to the lid of the boot.

26:56Despite the speed of the car, the blaze is faster. Over the thundering roar of the inferno and the screech of the engine, Zoe can vaguely make out Brian's voice. Brian was talking to me, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. I don't know whether he was praying or something, I don't know. Because the roar of the flames was so loud. And next thing, the car crashed. Brakes squeal as the car swerves just a second too late. the driver wrestling with the steering wheel in zero visibility. Then comes the sickening crunch of metal. Shock waves rip through the vehicle, sending a jarring jolt through its passengers as its framework crumples.