Police in Cyprus found two bodies inside a burned-out car Thursday after a massive wildfire scorched 38.6 square miles of forested hillsides, destroyed numerous homes and forced the evacuation of a dozen villages on the southern side of the island nation’s Troodos mountain range.
Police initially reported late Wednesday that Civil Defense personnel found the charred body of a single individual inside the vehicle on a main road connecting fire-hit hillside villages.
But a second body was discovered early Thursday morning and police said identification efforts are ongoing.
Photos posted on social media purported to show the victims’ gutted vehicle on the shoulder of the main Monagri-Alassa road.
Fire Service Spokesman Andreas Kettis told state-run Cyprus News Agency there are currently no active fronts but fire crews were still battling numerous flare-ups, and winds are expected to pick up later in the day.
