Cyprus ready to send more help to Greece to fight fires

The Cyprus government has sent aircrafts, small brigade vehicles, firemen and members of the Civil Defence to Greece to help efforts to extinguish fires raging near Athens.

Cyprus Justice and Public Order Minister Loucas Louca has said that Cyprus government is ready to further support firefighting groups, if it is asked to.

Louca said on Sunday evening that a fire helicopter of the Republic was already in Elefsina, Greece, and that a second mission, comprising a C-130 aircraft, firemen and two small brigade vehicles also left Cyprus for Greece.

He also noted that a second aircraft was expected to take off for Greece, carrying 16 forest firemen and Civil Defence members who are experts in extinguishing fires (a total of 35 people). He added that “if we are asked to offer more help we are in a position to respond to such a request.”

The first Cypriot mission comprising 37 firemen, members of the Disaster Response Unit and two vehicles left on Sunday afternoon. Both Louca and Minister of Agriculture, Natural Sources and Environment Michalis Polinikis who were at Andreas Papandreou air base in Paphos, from where the mission left, underlined the importance of helping Greece in fighting the raging fires.