President Nikos Christodoulides made clear that protecting human lives would take priority over saving property as deadly wildfires ravaged mountainous Limassol, with firefighting forces focusing efforts on evacuation operations rather than tackling blazes threatening homes.
Speaking to journalists around 20:14 yesterday evening at the crisis centre in Agios Amvrosios, Christodoulides repeated the phrase “human lives” five times during his approximately three-minute statement, emphasising the priority for security forces in the area.
The president made a strong public appeal for citizens to comply with evacuation instructions for affected communities, even responding firmly to journalists’ questions to say that human lives remained the primary concern.
He indicated that the objective of protecting human lives would not be abandoned for the sake of property, saying: “From here on, I want to make a public appeal to everyone. I completely understand the issue of property, but people must follow the instructions of those who know better than all of us, and move away from their homes”.
The remarks came as aircraft operations had concluded due to darkness, and around 21:00 reports began emerging of casualties in mountainous Limassol.
The situation during evening hours was tense, with residents posting on social media showing fire engines and commenting that firefighters were supervising rather than operating.
One video from Souni showed houses burning whilst vehicles remained parked at roadsides with firefighters watching.
In another video, residents called on a fire engine crew to take action to save property. “Why aren’t you doing something? Come down… The houses are burning,” a resident shouted. A crew member was shown responding to one resident, speaking about “human life”, revealing the instructions received.
Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis maintained that firefighting operations were “in full progress, with all forces making superhuman efforts under particularly adverse conditions”.
The deadly Limassol fire that has destroyed entire communities since it started on Wednesday afternoon, is suspected to be the result of arson, according to Fire Service officials.
Multiple roads remain closed, and police maintain patrols across affected areas. Members of the Special Disaster Response Unit (MMAD) are conducting patrols in villages where potentially trapped or missing persons have been reported.