A massive fire breaks out in Cyprus, and Israel and the European Union are called to the rescue

The confrontation continues. After several hours of mobilization, firefighters have not yet been able to put out the flames that continued at the end of the evening of Saturday, July 3, in the Cypriot region of Arakapas located in the south of the island, near the city’s port. Limassol. No injuries were reported, but several houses were destroyed.

Villages in the neighboring region of Larnaca, a coastal town about fifty kilometers from Limassol, have been evacuated as a precaution. More than twenty firefighters, six helicopters and four planes have already been mobilized, as well as personnel from British forces stationed at UK bases installed on the island.

Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides told national news agency CNA that the authorities had asked for help from Israel, whose coastline is more than 200 kilometers from the island’s shores. Agriculture Minister Costas Cadis told him that he had also requested the EU’s help.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades thanked Israel, Cyprus’ neighbor, in a tweet on Twitter for answering the call that day “Difficult”. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office announced that two Canadian and flame-retardant substances were sent to the island on Sunday.

In his tweet, Nicos Anastasiades also welcomed the gesture of Greece, which sent two from Canada as part of a European mechanism. Meanwhile, officials said, two more bombers are expected to come with water from Italy as part of the European Emergency Aid Mechanism.

Cyprus has been facing a heat wave since the beginning of the week, with temperatures sometimes exceeding 45 degrees Celsius.