in-cyprus 3 July 2021 - by Constantinos Tsintas
Two men arrested in connection with a fire at the Kelokedara-Trachypedoula area of Paphos this week, are blaming each other, claiming it was payback to police after receiving fines for traffic violations.A second arrest, an 18 year old, was made over the past 24 hours, after a 22 year old was detained.
According to a police source, the two men in custody are insisting on their testimony of pointing the finger at the other, saying that they had been repeatedly fined by police for a number of traffic violations and sought revenge against them.
They were arrested following an eye witness account during the investigation on how the fire started just before one in the afternoon of June 30th, between the Trachypedoula and Kelokedara communities.
It was put out almost seven hours later, after burning half a kilometre of wild shrubbery and quite a number of trees, causing major environmental damage.
The fire service and the forestry department with crews in 11 vehicles, as well as seven fire fighting planes battled the blaze.
