NY office of Cyprus representative to UN evacuated after fire

The offices housing Cyprus’ representative to the UN in New York were evacuated on Tuesday due to a fire.

The flames broke out shortly after 1:30pm, US time (9:30pm Cyprus time).

The fire is believed to have begun from the basement, from where dense smoke emerged to take over the whole building. It was quickly put out by the fire services, who remained on scene to examine the damage.

Everyone was evacuated safely and the fire did not extend to other floors of the six-storey building.

The offices house Cyprus’ permanent mission to the UN, the consulate, press office and Cyprus’ shipping attaché in New York.

A few days earlier, the foreign ministry had ordered an investigation into the hygiene conditions of the building where lead, asbestos and mould were found. The first two are considered carcinogenic and the ministry ordered an urgent order to immediately find a new building to relocate to.

The current premises are owned by the government of Cyprus.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.