Newsroom
As if battling a wildfire in August was not dangerous enough, emergency crews responding to a blaze near Agia Anna discovered an unexploded military mortar round in their path.
The 81-millimeter illumination shell was found Wednesday inside the Kalo Chorio firing range as firefighters worked to bring the flames under control.
National Guard bomb-disposal experts were called to the scene and secured the area, which remained under police and military guard throughout the night. The shell was safely destroyed at about 9:30 a.m. Thursday, according to Defence Ministry spokesperson Sofianos Philippides.
A second object initially believed to be military ammunition was also inspected. Authorities later determined that it contained no explosives and was simply a piece of metal.
The discovery added another layer of danger to an already difficult firefighting operation near a populated area. It also revived concerns among nearby communities about the safety of the Kalo Chorio firing range, just one month after a much larger fire in the same general area forced the evacuation of Agia Anna and Psevdas.
Wednesday’s fire broke out shortly before 3 p.m. in the bed of the Tremithos River, within the administrative boundaries of Agia Anna in the Larnaca district. It burned through about six hectares of reeds, dry grass and wild vegetation, an area roughly the size of eight football pitches, before being brought fully under control at 5:30 p.m. CNA reported that strong ground and aerial forces were involved.
Five firefighting aircraft joined the operation, along with Forestry Department and Fire Service crews, water tankers, bulldozers and local residents using agricultural machinery. Firefighters remained in the area to watch for possible flare-ups.
Authorities have not said that the mortar shell caused the fire, and the two incidents should not be automatically connected. But finding unexploded ammunition while crews are moving through smoke, flames and thick vegetation presents an obvious risk, and not only to trained firefighters.
For residents of Agia Anna and surrounding communities, this is unlikely to feel like an isolated scare. After last month’s fire linked to military activity at the range, local communities called for the facility to close.
This latest discovery will almost certainly bring the same question back: how safe is the land around the firing range once the soldiers have gone home?
