Greek Cyprus' worst forest fire in decades kills four
The blaze, which began on Saturday afternoon outside the village of Arakapas, spread quickly amid strong winds and forced the evacuation of at least eight mountain villages, destroying homes and scorching pine forests and orchards.
Smoke from a forest fire is seen in Ora village, Larnaca, Greek Cyprus, July 3, 2021.
Four people have been found dead as a huge fire raged for a second day in Greek Cyprus, razing tracts of forest and gutting dozens of homes in a blaze one official called the worst on record.
The blaze on Sunday, fanned by strong winds, affected at least 10 communities over an area exceeding 50 square kilometres in the foothills of the Troodos mountain range, an area of pine forest and densely vegetated shrubland.
"Its one of the most destructive (fires) we have experienced, unfortunately, with victims," Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades told reporters from the area.
The state would stand by and support all those affected, he said.
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Cyprus tackled a massive wildfire described by officials as the worst in the country's history.
— Christos Theocharidis (@C_Theocharidis) July 4, 2021
An early result of the burnt area produced by Sentinel-3 satellite indicate 67 square kilometres approximately destroyed from the fire.#Cyprus #cyprusfires #arakapas #αρακαπας pic.twitter.com/wNmc9Py6pr
The area includes some of Greek Cyprus's most picturesque mountain villages. Witnesses said slopes of lush pine or fruit tree orchards had been turned to smouldering black stumps on a barren grey landscape.
"It will take them at least 10 years to grow back. How are we to survive?" said farmer Andreas Costa, 70, who wept as Anastasiades tried to comfort him.
"It burnt everything," Costa told state TV.
The victims were found dead close to Odou, a mountainous community north of the cities of Limassol and Larnaca.
In a statement, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said it had been informed by Greek Cyprus authorities that the victims were Egyptians.
Witnesses said the victims were found a short distance from a vehicle that appeared to have crashed.
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Support from EU
The EU's executive, the European Commission, said firefighting planes had departed from Greece to battle the fire and Italy was also planning to deploy aerial firefighters.
Israel also pledged assistance and aircraft from British military bases in Greek Cyprus also contributed.
The EU's emergency Copernicus satellite was activated to provide damage assessment maps of the affected areas, the Commission said in a statement.
The cause of the fire, which started around midday on Saturday, was unclear. Greek Cyprus experiences high temperatures in the summer months, with temperatures in recent days exceeding 40 Celsius.
Police said they were questioning a 67-year-old person in connection with the blaze.
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