The two died in cars in a wildfire that tores southern Cyprus amid temperatures expected to rise to 44C on Thursday.
Cyprus police said two burnt bodies were found in a burnt-out vehicle after the flames began in the village of Maria in the Limassol district on Wednesday afternoon.
The body has not yet been officially identified, but local media reports say the car belonged to a 77-year-old woman who was reported missing. The pair is understood to be an older couple in the area.
More than 12 other people have been treated for fire-related injuries, already destroying homes and 100 square kilometers (40 square meters) of land.
Over 250 firefighters have been deployed to fight the fire. This is agitated by the strong, high temperature winds.
The country’s weather department issued an extreme high temperature alert on Thursday, with a high of 44C expected inland regions.
Cyprus Firefighter spokesman Andreas Kettis said there was no “active front” in the fire, but “flare-ups” continued in the area.
Some communities have lost electricity and air conditioning as a result of the flames.
“As I entered the house, I saw a valley filled with flames with mountains and valleys,” Antonis Christou, who lives in the Chinese herbalism tribe, one of the villages affected by the fire, told AFP Agency.
“I cried, I cried, because people were on fire.”
Neighboring countries are being asked to support the Cyprus government’s firefighting efforts.
Cyprus is calling for support for firefighting operations through the European Union’s civil protection mechanisms.
Spain is scheduled to send two aircraft on Thursday, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said.
Two firefighters are waiting in Jordan, but two more aircraft are expected from Spain, Justice Minister Marios Hertztis told public broadcaster CYBC.
The witness’s testimony suggesting that the fire was intentionally launched was handed over to police by the firefighters.
Europe is facing temperatures burned during a heat wave this summer, with wildfires also entrenched in Greek Crete, Turkey and Spain.
Facing drought, Cyprus is routinely hit by wildfires throughout the summer.
In 2021, four Egyptian farm workers were killed in a wildfire that burned an area of approximately 55 square kilometers (21 square meters) in the Limassol area.
