Fire rips through place of worship

A fire broke out at a place of worship in Limassol Friday morning, with fire fighters managing to contain the blaze before spreading to adjacent buildings.

According to local media, a building caught fire on Eleftheria Street in the old part of town in Limassol on Friday very early in the morning.

Fire Department spokesperson Andreas Kettis said the dispatcher was notified at 3:13am about a raging fire, with four fire trucks rushing to the scene and fire fighters managing to extinguish the flames by 4:15am.

Residents in nearby homes were ordered to evacuate while reports said adjacent building structures were not affected during the incident.

Additional reports said the fire ripped through the building, which was being used as a place of worship by an evangelical church, causing extensive damages in the interior and the roof, which later collapsed.

Police have joined the fire department in the ongoing investigation, while there were no preliminary reports on what might have caused the inferno.