Fire destroys repat’s belongings

A fire at the back of a moving truck yesterday destroyed the belongings of a newly repatriated family.

The owner who recently moved back to Cyprus from South Africa could not believe his bad luck as he watched helplessly while fire fighters tried trying to put out the fire.

The incident happened at around 2pm on Troodos Avenue near Strovolos and a few kilometres from the family’s new home in Makedonitissa.

The truck driver said he stopped when he saw the fire through his rear-view mirror and passing drivers jumped on the truck to try and salvage what they could.

The blaze destroyed a fridge and several other household appliances. Cardboard boxes helped the blaze to spread.

The family’s effects arrived at Limassol port from South Africa on Friday and were loaded on the truck to be carried to Nicosia yesterday.

"They came all the way from South Africa and burned here," said the distraught owner looking at the charred remains of his possessions.

Thanks to the help of other drivers and the fire service’s prompt action, some boxes at least could be salvaged.

The fire service believes the fire could have started by a cigarette butt thrown from a passing car.

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.