Cyprus sends aircraft to assist Greece in firefighting efforts

Cyprus will send two aircraft to Greece to assist in firefighting efforts there, the government said on Thursday.

According to a statement by the government spokesman, President Nikos Christodoulides gave instructions for the dispatch of the two planes, following Greece’s appeal for help via rescEU- the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism.

The two Air Tractor AT-802 planes – located in Paphos – will depart immediately, the statement added.

In Greece, firefighters continued battling major blazes. A fire near Athens had been contained, but authorities stayed on alert as a heatwave was set to continue.

Temperatures are expected to reach 45C on Sunday.

“The hard times are clearly not over yet,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.