Fresh Island festival fire: Zrće beach evacuated as huge blaze breaks out near Croatia hip-hop event

A hip-hop festival in Croatia has been evacuated as a huge forest fire broke out near the venue.

Dramatic footage showed revellers running from Fresh Island festival at Zrće beach on the island of Pag on Monday night.

Flames were seen rising high into the night sky nearby as an evacuation at the popular event got under way.

Zrće beach was closed for safety precautions and festival-goers were told to avoid the area.

Fresh Island Festival said on Twitter: “Due to the ongoing fire we have now been instructed by the police that they have had to shut the road to Novalja and unfortunately will not let buses pass through.

”Zrce Beach is now closed for safety precautions.”

Papaya nightclub - one of three venues at the festival - was evacuated.

"The flames were at times double the height of the trees and the smoke cloud grew very quickly also," Jess Storey, who had been at the nightclub with her friends, told Mirror Online.

"We made the decision to leave immediately - many people had noticed the fire but were filming it and not taking action so we decided to get out before there was a mass stampede.

Security escorted fans away from the blaze and were directing them to shuttle buses taking people to the nearby Novalja town.

The annual festival has become the biggest hip hop beach festival in Europe, and attracts some of the genre's biggest acts.

On the bill at this years event was the likes of Tyga, Tory Lanez and Stefflon Don.