Limassol municipality has postponed all carnival events scheduled for Saturday as the funerals will be held of the five family members that perished in a fire in the Ayios Nikolas area last Saturday, it announced on Tuesday.

The fire in Limassol was reported at around 4am on Saturday and four fire engines were at the scene within minutes. The family home was on the second floor, and the blaze quickly spread, trapping the family inside.

Bassem Adeeb Gamil Takla, aged 35, and his wife Maria Georgiou, 33, and their three children, aged seven, three and two all died. The oldest two children were girls and the youngest a boy.

Limassol municipality said on Monday it would fully cover funeral expenses for all five victims, expressing its “deepest sorrow” over the incident.

It added that temporary housing has already been secured for the other people who lived in the building.

The tragedy had raised questions as to the prevalence of poor-quality appliances, adaptor plugs and extensions, and the degree to which regulation for their import is sufficient.