Four dead Cyprus forest fires raging Reuters agencies

NICOSIA (Reuters) -Four people were found dead in a second day after a huge fire broke out in Cyprus, and named the worst recorded by an official who was destroying parts of the forest.

The fire, caused by strong winds, affected at least 10 communities on an area of ​​50 square kilometers (19 square miles) at the foot of the Troodos Mountains, in an area planted with pine trees and dense vegetation.

The victims, thought to be Egyptian citizens, were found dead near the Odou community, a mountainous community north of the cities of Limassol and Larnaca.

“All indications are that there are four people who have been missing since yesterday,” said Interior Minister Nicos Nouris.

The EU executive, the European Commission, has said firefighting planes have departed from Greece to fight the blaze and Italy also plans to deploy air firefighters.

The EU’s Copernicus emergency satellite was also activated to provide damage assessment maps for the affected areas, the Commission said in a statement.

“This is the worst forest fire in the history of Cyprus,” Charalambos Alexandrou, director of the Forestry Department, told Omega TV in Cyprus.

They tried to prevent the fire from crossing the mountains and before reaching Machairas, a pine forest and one of the highest peaks in Cyprus.

The cause of the fire, which started around noon on Saturday, was unclear. Cyprus has high temperatures during the summer months, exceeding 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in recent days. Police said a 67-year-old man was being questioned in connection with the fire.