A massive wildfire killed two people as it ripped through forests outside Cyprus’s second city of Limassol, fanned by strong winds and temperatures forecast to reach 44C, authorities said on Thursday.
Police said two charred bodies were found in a burnt out car believed to have been caught up in the blaze that erupted on Wednesday afternoon.
“We express the deep sorrow of the state over the unjust loss of two of our fellow citizens during the devastating wildfires,” said government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis.
He said that the cause of the blaze was “still under investigation”, but high “temperatures, strong winds and drought… made the situation even more difficult”.
Announcing relief measures for the affected communities, Letymbiotis earlier said that “what is unfolding in our country… is unprecedented” with “multiple simultaneous wildfire outbreaks”.
Health authorities said two people were admitted to hospital with severe burns while another 16 were treated for less serious injuries.
Fire service spokesperson Andreas Kettis said the blaze, which started in the village of Malia in the hills above Limassol, ravaged 100 square kilometres (nearly 40 square miles).
He said there were “no active fronts” in the fire but intense “flare-ups” continued in the area.
Authorities issued an extreme heat alert for the Mediterranean island as temperatures were expected to peak at 44C.
More than 250 firefighters and 75 vehicles were deployed to battle the blaze.
– ‘Valley full of flames’ –
The government has asked neighbouring countries to send aircraft to support the firefighting effort.
Letymbiotis said firefighting aircraft had arrived from Jordan, with more expected from Egypt, Israel and Spain “as soon as possible”, alongside assistance from the British air force base in the island’s south.
“Unfortunately, the fire fronts were enormous — you have seen the unprecedented destruction, despite tremendous efforts,” added the government spokesman.
Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis told public broadcaster CyBC that 106 people had to spend the night in temporary accommodation after several villages were evacuated in the face of the advancing flames.
Scores of homes are feared to have been damaged or destroyed by the fire, with 16 communities left without electricity for airconditioning or refrigeration in the searing heat.
“When I entered my house, I saw the mountain and the valley full of flames,” said Antonis Christou, a resident of Kandou, one of the villages affected by the fire.
“I cried, really I cried, because people got burnt, and someone got burnt while in his car.”
In the neighbouring village of Souni, houses were reduced to empty shells as their roofs caved in and their facades were burned to a crisp.
Fire service chief Nikos Longinos told CyBC that he had passed on witness testimony to the police which suggested that the blaze might have been started deliberately.
Cyprus is hit by wildfires almost every year during the island’s hot, dry summers. A 2021 wildfire in Larnaca district killed four Egyptian farmworkers.
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© Agence France-Presse
