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Extent of damage from Cyprus wildfires becoming clear as blazes brought under control

A firefighter, along with her colleagues, tries to extinguish a fire in Souni village on the southern side of Cyprus' Troodos mountain range, 24 July 2025
A firefighter, along with her colleagues, tries to extinguish a fire in Souni village on the southern side of Cyprus' Troodos mountain range, 24 July 2025 Copyright  AP Photo
Copyright AP Photo
By Ioannis Karagiorgas
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Mourning for an elderly couple who were killed as the gird operator works to restore electricity in affected areas.

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As firefighting forces in Cyprus stay on high alert for any additional flare-ups along the fire's front, the devastation from the blaze that claimed two lives becomes increasingly evident.

About 125 square kilometres of greenery was reduced to ashes in the mountainous Limassol region, according to data from the European Space Agency's (ESA) WorldCover Programme.

Roughly 50% of the total burnt area is grassland, 31% hardwood vegetation, 16% tree cover and 1.3% residential.

A burned land is seen from above at Omodos village, Cyprus, during a massive wildfire on the southern side of the island nation's Troodos mountain range, Thursday, July 24, 20
A burned land is seen from above at Omodos village, Cyprus, during a massive wildfire on the southern side of the island nation's Troodos mountain range, Thursday, July 24, 20 AP Photo/Petros Karadjias

The wildfires claimed the lives of two people, a 77-year-old woman and her 84-year-old husband, who were found charred to death in their car. They had become trapped by the blaze after trying to escape their home in the village of Monagri.

Two people had been reported missing, local authorities are investigating whether the missing persons correspond with the couple found in their car.

Meanwhile, seven other people are receiving treatment in state hospitals, two of whom were seriously injured but are now in stable condition. Five others are expected to be discharged soon.

Ten countries responded to Cyprus' request for international assistance to help extinguish the fire, Agriculture Minister Maria Panagiotou said, including Jordan, Israel and Spain, which sent aircraft on Thursday.

Greece is additionally sending 26 forestry workers who are specialised in handling resurgent fires.

Burned houses are seen in Souni village, Cyprus, during a massive wildfire on the southern side of the island nation's Troodos mountain range, Thursday, July 24, 2025.
Burned houses are seen in Souni village, Cyprus, during a massive wildfire on the southern side of the island nation's Troodos mountain range, Thursday, July 24, 2025. AP Photo/Petros Karadjias

Meanwhile, 17 areas remain without power as the fire burned much of the electricity infrastructure. As for civilian infrastructure, 43 houses were completely burnt down while another 29 were severely damaged.

The Cypriot government announced that it will cover 100% of the damage to the properties of the affected people.

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