Occupied Famagusta once again counts its wounds. The large fire that broke out after three on Friday afternoon, for an unknown reason, in the area of Agios Memnon in occupied Famagusta, seems to have been brought under control around eight in the evening.
According to Markos Tragolas, Deputy Director of the Fire Brigade, "it seems that the fire has been brought under control." "They have been instructed to leave the area," he added.Previous update
According to information, a firefighting aircraft arrived from Turkey to extinguish the fire. In the end, however, his intervention was not deemed necessary and he returned. Christodoulidis contacted him twice, once to inform him that the Republic of Cyprus was ready to offer assistance, and the other time to ask him how the situation was. Mr. Burcu said that the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci The representative of the so-called presidency also said that two helicopters of the British Bases also helped in the firefighting. Earlier, the Government of the Republic of Cyprus, forwarded to the the Turkish Cypriot side its readiness to help put out the fire, at the time when it is asked to This was confirmed by the Government Spokesman, Nikos Christodoulidis, in a relevant post on his personal twitter account, where he states: of fire ". However, the Famagusta Fire Department is still on full alert, which was reinforced with vehicles from the Nicosia and Larnaca stations. Five large fire trucks and other smaller ones are located at the Famagusta Cultural Center, next to the Deryneia roadblock. The Fire Brigade will continue to be on alert throughout the night. A United Nations helicopter flew over the burning zone, while the occupying army, as well as soldiers, are used to extinguish the fire. It is noted that many people had gathered at the roadblock of Deryneia, anxiously watching the development of the fire from a distance of two - three kilometers. Meanwhile, according to the so-called government official in the occupied areas of Famagusta, Sifa Tsolakoglou, due to the winds, the fire has spread and the flames have reached 500 meters from a hotel in the enclosed area where Turkish military families are staying. As he said, the cause of the fire is unknown and it remains out of control due to the winds that blow. He also mentioned that there are some buildings that are burning. He also said that a group has been set up to deal with the situation, which consists of members of the occupying "police service", the "fire service", the "civil defense", as well as groups from the so-called municipality of Famagusta. He also said that help has been offered by individuals who have water tanks.Contribution of British Bases
The Deputy Director of the Fire Service, Markos Tragolas, who went to the area early in the afternoon, told KYPE that "five vehicles from the Fire Stations of Famagusta, Larnaca and Nicosia are on standby and on alert at the Cultural Center of Dechimos. He added that "we have offered our assistance to the occupying authorities in animate and inanimate material for extinguishing the fire that broke out in occupied Famagusta and we are waiting for their response." Answering a relevant question, Mr. Tragolas said that "there are two helicopters from the British Base of Dhekelia, which take water from the sea to extinguish the fire ".The Mayor of Deryneia reassures
The Mayor of Deryneia, Andros Karagiannis, who went to the Deryneia Roadblock immediately after the fire, told KYPE that "the fire can be seen from the barbed wire of the area, since it is raging at the place where the Technical School is located". Answering another question , Mr. Karagiannis stated that "there was no fear that the fire would cross the dead zone and come to the free areas". He also noted that "fires and the destruction of the natural environment are part of the daily life and the problems faced by the semi-occupied Municipalities and Communities ".Source: FILELEFTHEROS