The fire that broke out yesterday Tuesday in Paphos, where houses and livestock units have been burnt, is out of control, with the Cypriot authorities activating the National Plan “Pyrsos”.

So far, no human lives have been endangered, but the flames have spread to livestock units, as a result of which the animals there have been burnt.

Υπεράνθρωπες οι προσπάθειες που καταβάλλονται από όλες τις αρμόδιες υπηρεσίες, για κατάσβεση της πυρκαγιάς στην επαρχία Πάφου. Η Αστυνομία προχώρησε σε ανάκληση προσωπικού. pic.twitter.com/iSWqbL8v70

— Αστυνομία Κύπρου (@Cyprus_Police) June 11, 2024

Owing to the swiftly-spreading fire, three houses in the village of Psathi were completely burnt and at least six were damaged. The villages of Polemi Psathi, Houlou, Lemona and Kurtaka have been evacuated.

It should be noted that the Cypriot authorities had sent a request for air support from Jordan, Israel, Greece and the European mechanism.

The Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias, immediately responded to this request, deciding to send two Canadair CL-415 aircraft to the extinguishing operation, as did Jordan.

To coordinate the efforts to extinguish the fire, the Coordination, Research and Rescue Center in Larnaca has been put into operation.

The President of the Republic rushed to the scene yesterday, having just returned from Jordan, where he participated in a meeting on the humanitarian aid mission to Gaza.

Ο Πρόεδρος της Δημοκρατίας @PresidentCYP @Christodulides βρίσκεται στο ΚΣΕΔ Λάρνακας, όπου ενημερώνεται για την εξέλιξη της πυρκαγιάς στην επαρχία Πάφου pic.twitter.com/a1LyLX2Amj

— Προεδρία της ΚΔ (@CYpresidency) June 11, 2024

President Christodoulidis was informed by the Ministers of Defence, Justice and Agriculture at the Center about the state of the fire and the extinguishing efforts.

He also directed that arrangements be made to find shelter tonight for those whose houses have been damaged or those who cannot spend the night for safety reasons.

Among other things, President Christodoulidis said that the fire was detected by an aerial vehicle of the Forestry Department as part of the daily surveillance that is carried out and, according to the information he had from the talks, the fire broke out in an illegal rubbish dump.

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