United front to quell fire

FIREFIGHTERS battled throughout the afternoon yesterday to contain a fire in the northwest of the island.

The blaze broke out around 3pm in the buffer zone near Ambeliko village. Initially the fire spread towards the occupied territories, but shifting winds created a second front in the government-controlled areas.

Authorities got permission from the United Nations for firefighting choppers to make a several drops over the buffer zone.

In the government-controlled areas, the blaze incinerated around 1.5 square kilometres of shrubland and pine trees. In addition to ground forces, 13 fire engines, four helicopters and one firefighting plane of the Forestry Department were deployed. The police, Civil Defence and the British bases participated in the operation.

The fire was under control by dusk. A Fire Department spokesman said forces would remain on standby throughout the night.

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.