Thirty-six Lofou residents who were being evacuated by police bus have been forced to return to the village after fire flare-ups blocked their evacuation route, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis confirmed Thursday.
The evacuation reversal occurred hours after initial reports indicated successful civilian extraction from the fire-surrounded mountain community in Limassol district.
“Due to flare-ups on the route that would be followed, police buses are returning residents to Lofou, to a safe point,” Letymbiotis stated in an updated announcement.
The residents remain accompanied by police and civil defence personnel whilst authorities assess alternative evacuation corridors from the encircled community.
Earlier Thursday morning, Letymbiotis had confirmed residents gathered at Lofou village school “have been safely evacuated and transported out of the fire zone via police buses.”
The coordinated operation involved National Guard forces, police units, Fire Service personnel, and Civil Defence teams working to extract civilians as wildfire conditions deteriorated across the mountainous region.
Community leader Giannos Neofytou previously explained that despite early evacuation warnings to approximately 230 residents, some remained in the village before it became surrounded by flames.
“I reported we had a problem and police sent a bus from Agios Ambrosios, before that community itself came under threat,” Neofytou stated, adding that 36 people boarded the evacuation vehicle awaiting police escort.
Current operations focus on identifying secure evacuation routes whilst maintaining resident safety within the fire-affected zone.
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