The fire which broke out near the village of Droushia on Monday most likely broke out in a roadside ditch, Paphos police said on Tuesday.

According to Paphos police deputy operations manager Michalis Nicolaou, the site was visited by officers from Stroumbi police station and members of Paphos CID.

During the investigation, they obtained testimony saying that the fire started in a ditch by the side of a rural road in the area.

On Monday evening, the forestry department confirmed the fire had been brought under complete control by 7pm, with Droushia mukhtar Sotiris Kouparis saying it had been on the wane by early evening.

Kouparis said the fire burned 1.5 square kilometres of wild scrub and low vegetation, a small number of trees, and a wooden gazebo near the village of Inia, also damaging a warehouse containing mattresses, located near an army barracks.

The fire had started shortly after 1pm near Droushia and the neighbouring village of Pittokopos, before spreading towards Inia later in the day.

Firefighting forces from the forestry department and the fire brigade were mobilised, with reinforcements being sent in the afternoon.

The ‘Icarus’ plan was activated, deploying nine aircraft and one coordinating helicopter from the National Guard.

Inia mukhtar Yangos Tsivikos said earlier in the day that the fire was raging out of control and had spread quickly due to strong winds, reaching the military camp near Inia. He confirmed that the camp has been evacuated/

Earlier, two fire engines from the Paphos and Polis Chrysochous fire stations responded to the fire, which, according to forestry department spokesperson George Constantinou, involved large rubbish heaps near Droushia, as well as the villages of Arodes and Inia.

The fire was initially put under control, but, due to a rekindling of the blaze near the village of Androlikou, the nearby army camp outside Inia was evacuated.