The devastating Kantara blaze has been brought under control, according to the north’s firefighting service’s chief Ramadan Gurpinar.
In comments to Bayrak, carried by the Cyprus News Agency, Gurpinar stated that in the coming hours the fire is expected to be completely extinguished. He added that the small fires which had reignited have been dealt with by the aerial units.
Firefighting efforts resumed in the early hours of Friday morning, with helicopters first to the scene, as progress appears to have been made in handling the blaze which first broke out on Tuesday.
According to Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, citing information gathered by drones, by noon Thursday the blaze had burned through 12,000 acres of land.
The fire drew international support with up to eleven aerial units assisting in the efforts, numbering six planes and five helicopters.
The Republic of Cyprus sent aircraft to the north on Wednesday, while the British bases, Israel, the UN and Turkey also assisted.
The villages of Flamoudi and Ardana in the north were evacuated by Turkish Cypriot authorities in the early hours of Thursday.
Elsewhere, Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay cut short his visit to the north and returned to Turkey as all of the related events have been cancelled.
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