Heartmenders Magazine Pays Tribute To The Two Fallen Heroes Of Cyprus And Calls For More International Support

By Okechukwu Okugo

Heartmenders Magazine USA sends our condolence to the people and government of Cyprus, as well as the bereaved families, for the loss of two firemen from an incident that appeared to be such a monumental loss in many years back and one of Cyprus' worst ever forest fires.

The loss of  two Cyprus' finest heroes: Firefighter Andreas Sophocleous 49, and Firefighter Marios Aristotelous 44, that died in an accident involving their truck in the cause of battling the fire, was such a devastating one to the families and the government of Cyprus.

The ignited fire affected many fronts in the country, such as Troodos, Astinou area, Ayios Theodoros, Kourdali area, Ayia Erini, and Kannavia.




Funeral of Marios Aristotelous. Photo credit: in-cyprus.com



High winds made the firefighting difficult on the mountainous terrain, situation that was not helped by the high temperatures of the area, too.
Efforts to quell the fire involved many international squads, besides numerous trucks, and 20 aircraft from Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Israel and Britain. It was reported to have devoured more than 15 square kilometers of a 150-year-old pine forest.

The Washington Post reported as at June 23, that Cyprus' justice minister had declared the massive fire that had terrorized the Mediterranean island over the last four days, under control; and that firefighters and trucks remained on high alert in case of any flareups.



Funeral of Andreas Sophocleous. Photo credit: http://www.i-eidisi.com/

We thank all the countries that responded swiftly and contributed in bringing this huge firestorm under control and call for more international aid and support to the government and people of Cyprus.

Our heart goes out to the grieving families in particular, and urge that they continue to receive the love and support they need at this trying period of their life.

(Opening image: www.wildlandfirefighter.com:

A firefighting aircraft drops fire retardant material in efforts to contain a huge forest fire that continues to rage out of control for a third day.)