Cyprus forest fire that killed 4 now under control

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A deadly brush fire that claimed four lives and has been described as the most destructive blaze in Cyprus' 61-year history as an independent republic is now fully under control, Cypriot authorities said Monday.

Cyprus’ Forestry Department said more than 600 people managed to contain the blaze early Monday after scorching more than 55 square kilometers (21 square miles), forcing the evacuation of nine villages and burning down homes, businesses, orchards and forest.

Fire crews remain on the scene in case the blaze reignites amid temperatures reaching 35 C (95 F). Cyprus Electricity Authority officials said they hope to have power restored to at least seven villages by Monday evening.

Search crews on Sunday discovered the bodies of four people who are believed to be Egyptian laborers outside the village of Orou on the southern edge of Cyprus’ main Troodos mountain range.

The men, ages 22 to 29, had gone missing Saturday afternoon when the fire began outside the nearby village of Arakapas and spread quickly amid strong winds.

Officials said the four tried to flee the fire along a dirt mountain track, but their small truck veered off the road and fell down an embankment. They tried to flee on foot, but didn’t make it.

Trade Union PEO has asked for a full investigation into the laborers' deaths as well as their work safety conditions.

President Nicos Anastasiades called the fire “an unprecedented tragedy” for Cyprus except for the destruction wreaked by a 1974 war that split the island along ethnic lines after Turkey invaded in response to a coup aimed at union with Greece.

Some area residents who lost their homes and property to the fire wept as they described seeing a lifetime’s worth of labor going up in flames. People were allowed back to their...