Limassol police on Monday were continuing an intense search for the arsonists who caused a large fire in Ayios Sylas and Ayios Therapontas.

The fire in Ayios Sylas was set shortly after noon last Friday and, despite numerous air and ground firefighting forces, it raged for hours, spreading destruction.

The fire burned animals and buildings, along with five square kilometres of trees, crops and wild vegetation. Authorities are saying that the perpetrators who set the Ayios Sylas blaze also started a fire in Ayios Therapontas in the evening of the same day.

On Monday, police spokesman Christos Andreou said investigators are “convinced” the two fires were started by the same people.

Police are examining CCTV and taking new testimonies from victims and residents of the area.

According to sources, testimony has arisen describing two people driving a double-cab vehicle flinging lit pieces of solid fuel from the window. The testimony was provided to Limassol CID, via a third party.

The originator of the information, who may have seen the arsonists’ faces, has notbeen located.

Limassol police spokesman Lefteris Kyriakou confirmed the information to daily Phileleftheros and appealed for anyone with additional information, as well as to the individual who allegedly saw the scene, to come forward.

Police are meanwhile investigating a pool of suspects known to authorities for past involvement in arson attacks in rural areas. So far nothing solid has emerged.

Previous fires, on May 9 and May 31, have elements in common with the latest attack. The earlier fires were set in the same area, the second at a distance of 500m from the first. They also took place around noon while strong winds were blowing.

This suggests the arsonists have a clear intent, taking into account weather conditions, and setting the fires in hard-to-access spots.

Questions meanwhile were raised as to why the fire services, being appraised of the fact that the May 9 fire which threatened the Ayios Sylas industrial zone was started maliciously, did not take additional measures to prevent future attacks.

The owner of a firewood factory, Iakovos Koumis, whose business went up in flames with an estimated loss of €200,000, has criticised the fire department, claiming that the service bypassed his business while they had the chance of limiting the extent of the damage to his property.

“Three fire engines went straight through to protect a residence. The fire was outside my business and instead of putting it out at the beginning, they let it spread to [a] second building,” he told Philenews.

Volunteer groups helped him rescue his generator, Koumis said, but expensive machinery and equipment was destroyed, while an adjacent wooden pallets business also burned down. The fire further raged across several other buildings and a livestock farm, where dozens of animals were burned alive.