Cyprus: 4 dead in worst fire in decades on island

Published on : 07/04/2021 – 12:58

Four people died in the vast fire which continued to ravage, Sunday, July 4, the southern flank of the Troodos forest massif, on the island of Cyprus, the authorities announced. President Nicos Anastasiades, who visited the site on Sunday morning, spoke of a “tragedy”.

The fire that broke out on Saturday, north of the port city of Limassol, set the southern flank of the Troodos massif, the main green lung of this small country of the European Union. The firefighters succeeded in the morning of Sunday to control the flames but fear a recovery because of more violent winds at the end of the day.

Four bodies were discovered near the village of Odos, in the southern Larnaca district, Interior Minister Nicos Nouris told reporters. They are being identified, he said, adding that it could be four Egyptian nationals missing since Saturday.

A 67-year-old man, suspected of causing the fire, has been arrested. A witness allegedly saw him leaving the scene in his car when the fire broke out, police said, adding that he could also face manslaughter charges for the deaths of the four Egyptians.

President Nicos Anastasiades visited the crisis management center in the village of Vavatsinia, located a few kilometers east of the blaze, on Sunday morning, before going to areas ravaged by the flames, according to the Cypriot news agency CNA.

“It’s a tragedy,” Nicos Anastasiades wrote in a tweet. The blaze is “the largest” recorded on the island since 1974, he added, “Lives, property, land and forests have been lost. The government will provide immediate assistance to victims and families of the victims. We will not leave anyone abandoned in the destruction of the fire, “the president still promised.

Request for international reinforcements

Firefighters are stationed along the road to Vavatsinia and several helicopters are circling in the sky near the blaze. A thick cloud of smoke rises in the Cypriot sky.

Faced with the scale of the disaster, the Cypriot authorities launched an appeal for international aid on Saturday evening, to which Greece and Italy responded within the framework of the European emergency aid mechanism, with the dispatch of four Canadair.

Two more water bomber planes are expected to arrive from Israel, whose coasts are more than 200 kilometers from those of the island, with a team of 15 members and four pilots.

On Saturday evening, more than 20 firefighters, 6 helicopters and 4 planes were already mobilized, as well as members of the British troops stationed on the bases of the United Kingdom installed on the island.

Several villages were evacuated as a precaution against the advancing flames.

Located in the south-eastern Mediterranean basin, Cyprus experiences frequent forest fires during the long period of summer drought, which traditionally runs from June to October, in scorching temperatures. The island has been facing a persistent rise in temperatures and increasingly severe droughts since the end of the 20th century due to climate change.

In recent days, temperatures have greatly exceeded 40 ° C in the interior of the island. As for precipitation, it has been almost non-existent since mid-April.

With AFP