Fire in Limnitis sparked by electrical fault

A fire in Limnitis appears to have been caused by a spark between electricity cables, reports from the north said on Saturday.

The fire had broken out at around 1pm on Friday and quickly spread across a large area, due to strong winds.

After a large-scale effort involving five aircraft, three from the government-controlled areas, one from the north and one from Turkey, the fire was put out late in the evening on Friday.

Reports in the north on Saturday have heavily referenced the fire, which burned a large area, known for its strawberry fields.

After the fire was brought under control, the area was visited by ‘interior minister’ Ziya Ozturkler, who said: “As someone who grew up there, I am very sorry.”

Throughout the night forces in the north remained in the area to fully extinguish the fire, while to deal with fire a crisis centre was set up in the village of Loutro, where Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel, and others were present with firefighting forces.

Tatar said it seems to have been caused by a spark from the electric cables.

Reports in the north said that this is a common cause of fires, due to the bad upkeep of the electricity network.

On Friday, the north’s ‘agriculture minister’, Dursun Oguz said the task of extinguishing the fire was difficult.

Trucks from Lefka and Morphou were also in the area fighting the fire.

Bayrak reported that the winds had made the work of firefighters difficult.