THE TEAM of Cyprus firefighters working round the clock in Israel as part of an international effort against a raging forest fire have been congratulated for helping to save a residential area from being engulfed in flames, police said yesterday.
Cyprus sent two more people to Israel last night to reinforce the team of police and forestry department officials already there fighting the massive forest fire north of Haifa, which has killed 42 people, scorched vast areas of forest and forced thousands to flee.
Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said police planned to send a third helicopter pilot last night to Tel Aviv to join the two pilots already there manning the Cyprus Police helicopter, along with a police engineer and Special Missions Unit policeman.
The unit was being reinforced “so (the pilots) can rotate, as the helicopter is battling against the fire from morning till night”, he said, noting that thanks to “superhuman” efforts, it managed to prevent the fire spreading to a residential area.
Forestry Department spokesman Andreas Christou said his department was also sending another person to Israel to beef up the two aeroplane pilots and two ground crew already there with a firefighting plane. A forestry department engineer was due to fly to Israel last night to carry out maintenance on the plane, as required when the plane spends more than two days on flying operations.
According to Christou, the forestry department plane was using foam and water to fight the fire. “Our unit was commended for its efficiency and accuracy in fighting the fire. Our pilots have built up a lot of experience over the years,” he said.
Katsounotos, who had telephone conversations with the helicopters pilots yesterday, said the situation on the slopes of Carmel Ridge near Haifa was “tragic”. The pilots had to face the brunt of the wind, which at times reached speeds of up to 100km per hour.
The commander of the Israeli Air Base where the helicopter is based contacted the head of the Cyprus Police Air Operations Unit “to express his congratulations and sincere thanks for the prompt and effective intervention by the Cyprus Police helicopter,” said Katsounotos.
The Cypriot team, which was the first foreign team to arrive in Israel on Friday morning, will remain there for as long is needed, he said, adding that the Cyprus Police and Fire Brigade are ready to send ground teams if asked by Israel to do so.
