FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE – More than forty hours after the deadly blaze erupted in the mountains of Limassol, Cypriot authorities say the situation is now under control.
The wildfire, which claimed the lives of two people and injured dozens more, left a path of devastation across the island.
The most dangerous front near the village of Omodos has now been contained. Fire crews remained on standby throughout the night, successfully tackling flare-ups that emerged in surrounding areas, according to reports from the Coordinating Centre.
Late Thursday evening, two Israeli C-130 aircraft carried out water-bombing missions, dropping around 34 tonnes of fire retardant north of Omodos and around the Troodos region to prevent the flames from reaching state forest land. Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou confirmed that four successful drops were completed before the planes returned to their base in Israel.
Ground and aerial crews worked tirelessly from Thursday afternoon into the night, focused on preventing the blaze from advancing toward Troodos Forest. Airborne firefighting operations are expected to resume at dawn in a bid to extinguish remaining hotspots and help restore electricity and water to the affected regions.
Officials estimate that more than 100 homes and buildings have been severely damaged or destroyed, along with over 100 vehicles. Satellite data suggests roughly 124 square kilometres of land have been burned, with 14 communities in Limassol seriously affected.
The scale of the catastrophe is such that smoke from the fire was visible as far as the shores of Lebanon.