The Cyprus Forestry Department said Monday that a deadly wildfire, the island's worst in decades, was now "under full control".

The blaze, fanned by strong winds, broke out Saturday and swept through parts of the Troodos mountain range, leaving four Egyptian labourers dead, before being reined in by water bombing by Greek and Israeli aircraft.

"The fire that broke out on Saturday... came under full control today Monday, July 5, 2021 at 08:00 am (0500 GMT)," the department said in a statement.

It added that firefighters were still deployed en masse around the village of Arakapas to tackle any potential further outbreaks.

The fire, described as the worst since the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, destroyed 50 homes, damaged power lines and forced the evacuation of 10 villages.

It burned an area of about 55 square kilometres covered with forest vegetation and crops.

Four Egyptian labourers died trying to escape the village of Odos.

AFP reporters saw thick gnarled trunks of ancient olive trees reduced to smouldering stumps and grey ash replacing yellowed scrub as far as the eye could see, as well as several burned out homes in Ora village.

A 67-year-old farmer was arrested and remanded in custody on suspicion of causing the blaze, a charge he denied.

Police said an eyewitness had seen him leaving Arakapas in his car at the same time the fire started there. He could face charges of recklessly causing four deaths.

More than 600 people from the emergency services and the army were involved in tackling the blaze, with a dozen aircraft and 70 fire trucks as well as a reconnaissance drone, the Forestry Department said.

Aircraft from Israel, Greece and the British bases on Cyprus were also deployed to help.

Cyprus worst forest fire in decades kills four
Arakapas, Cyprus (AFP) July 4, 2021 - Cyprus said a deadly forest fire that was the worst to hit the island in decades was close to being brought under control Sunday after water bombing by Greek and Israeli aircraft.

Fanned by strong winds, the fire broke out Saturday afternoon and swept through the southern foothills of the Troodos mountain range as the country grappled with a blistering heatwave.

The fire -- described by the forestry department as the worst since the Republic of Cyprus' establishment in 1960 -- killed four Egyptian labourers, destroyed 50 homes, damaged power lines and forced the evacuation of 10 villages.

"Everything was a nightmare and pure hell here; the village was surrounded by fire," said Akis Giorgiou, 45, from the hamlet of Arakapas.

By late Sunday afternoon, the government reported a "reduction of (fire) outbreaks" thanks to "effective water drops by Greek and Israeli aircraft".

The Egyptian government said the four dead were farm workers from the North African country, while Nicosia vowed in a tweet to "stand by the victims' families... offering every support".

"It is a tragedy," President Nicos Anastasiades said on Twitter, describing it as "the largest fire since 1974", the year when the island was divided after Turkey occupied its northern third.

The blaze destroyed 55 square kilometres (21 square miles) of forest and farmland, according to the forestry department.

Thick gnarled trunks of ancient olive trees, emblematic of the holiday island, were reduced to smouldering stumps.

Interior Minister Nicos Nouris said the four Egyptians' charred bodies were found outside the village of Odos in Larnaca district.

Their burnt-out vehicle was found at the bottom of a ravine and the four bodies some 600 metres (yards) away. A policeman at the scene told AFP that they appeared to have fled the vehicle on foot but run in the direction of the wind-fanned flames, in a doomed attempt to escape.

- 'Aerial firefighting' -

In areas where the fire had been tamed, grey ash replaced yellowed scrub as far as the eye could see.

A 67-year-old farmer was arrested and remanded in custody on suspicion of causing the blaze, a charge he denied.

Police said an eyewitness had seen him leaving the village of Arakapas in his car at the same time the fire started there. He could face charges of recklessly causing the four deaths.

Anastasiades visited a crisis management centre in the village of Vavatsinia, a few kilometres (miles) east of the blaze, on Sunday morning, the CNA news agency reported.

The Greek Cypriot leader said the blaze had appeared largely contained but could resurge.

Firefighters were seen along the road leading to Vavatsinia and several helicopters hovered above the fire as thick grey smoke obscured the sky.

An AFP correspondent in Ora village reported seeing several burned out homes.

Janez Lenarcic, European Commissioner for Crisis Management, said on Saturday its "aerial firefighting capacity" had been mobilised, with Italy and Greece sending planes to help.

Israel deployed a C-130 Hercules and two "Air Tractor" firefighting aircraft.

- 'Homes deemed safe' -

Britain, which has military bases on Cyprus, deployed two search and rescue helicopters.

A government spokeswoman said later that the situation was close to being brought under control.

"The fire and forestry services inspected the affected communities and now consider them safe," said spokeswoman Niovi Parisinou.

"The effort continues as complacency is not allowed until the final extinguishing of all fires," she said, adding electricity supplies were being gradually restored.

"Instructions have already been given for people to return where homes are deemed safe."

Teams would be deployed immediately to start evaluating and registering damaged homes and property for compensation, she added.

"We hope that as winds die down and temperatures fall in the evening, the situation will be better, and hopefully by (Monday) morning, the fire will be under control," forestry department chief Charalambos Alexandrou said, quoted by CNA.

Cyprus has experienced extended heatwaves and periods of drought in recent years.

In the past few days, the temperature has topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) inland and there has been very little rain since mid-April.

Cyprus mountain villagers in shock after deadly wildfire
Arakapas, Chypre (AFP) July 4, 2021 - Villagers in the Troodos mountains of Cyprus looked in shock Sunday at their blackened hillsides after a deadly fire fanned by high temperatures and strong winds.

Vaso, a woman in her 50s, recounted her hasty retreat with her daughter in their car as the flames closed in Saturday on her village of Odos, in the southern foothills of the Troodos range.

"My husband told me: 'Take our daughter and go'," she said. "We told the authorities but unfortunately help was late in coming."

Firefighters stumbled across the bodies of four Egyptian workers killed in the blaze just a few hundreds metres (yards) outside the village.

Their burnt-out vehicle had plunged down a ravine and the bodies found some 600 metres away.

A policeman at the scene told AFP they appeared to have fled the vehicle on foot but run in the direction of the wind-fanned flames, in a doomed attempt to escape.

A resident of another nearby village, Ora, described a scene of panic on Saturday as church bells rang out.

"It went all dark; we couldn't breathe. The village leader told us to go, go, go," said Elpida Papastylianou, 64.

"The church bells just kept ringing."

With the main fire brought largely under control on Sunday, Akis Giorgiou said he had stayed to protect his home five kilometres (three miles) away in the hamlet of Arakapas.

"Everything was a nightmare and pure hell here, the village was surrounded by fire," said the 45-year-old.

The fire damaged or destroyed around 50 homes, many of them in Arakapas, the interior ministry said.

Heat and smoke from the blaze killed more than 50,0000 chickens at a farm near Ora, an AFP photographer reported.

- 'Never seen anything like it' -

President Nicos Anastasiades said more than 50 square kilometres (20 square miles) of forest and farmland had been destroyed.

"I cried when I saw what happened to the landscape," said Andria, a 30-year-old native of Arakapas.

"I'm still in shock," she said, hands shaking over a cup of coffee in the village taverna.

Eighty-year-old villager Giorgou Herculis broke down in tears.

"It was the worst fire in my life. I'd never seen anything like it. It was terrible," he said.

After several hours of combating the blaze with the aid of helicopters and fire-fighting planes, civil defence workers warned that the smouldering hillsides could re-ignite in case of a return of high winds.

Italy and Greece sent planes to help, while Israel deployed a C-130 Hercules and two "Air Tractor" firefighting aircraft.

Britain, which has military bases on Cyprus, deployed two search and rescue helicopters.

A 67-year-old farmer was arrested and remanded in custody on suspicion of starting the blaze, a charge he denied.

He was seen by an eyewitness leaving the village of Arakapas in his car at the same time the fire started, police said.

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