Limassol fire suspect released without charge

Police on Friday released without charging a 49-year-old man arrested earlier this week on suspicion of starting a large fire in the Limassol area.

According to police, no solid evidence had been secured against the man, who had been remanded in custody for four days on Tuesday. Police said the investigation into the cause of the fire continued.

The blaze, which broke out on Monday noon in the area between Malia, Vouni and Kissousa, destroyed 2.5 square kilometres of wild bush, pine trees, various crops.

Authorities had evacuated the small community of Kissousa as a precaution.

It caused damage to a number of structures and destroyed others, which were abandoned. It also burned about a dozen power pylons causing an outage in the area.

The government has said that producers whose vineyards have been destroyed will be compensated.

The burnt area sits in the midst of the wine-producing area of Limassol which comprises around 20 villages.

The region’s vineyards mainly produce the local varieties of Xynisteri (white) and Mavro (red) grapes, as well as some imported varieties, but also around 20 other varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon, Mataro, Grenache and Syrah.

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