Cyprus sends fire-fighting plane to Israel in response to PM appeal

Cyprus has sent a fire-fighting plane to Israel in response to an appeal by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for help in combating blazes raging out of control, an official said on Thursday.

Takis Tsintides, director of the Cypriot forestry department, said the plane started operations in Israel at midday.

Netanyahu issued an appeal to neighboring countries on Wednesday after local fire-fighting force was unable to contain several fires fanned by strong winds in central and northern Israel and the West Bank that burned down or damaged several houses.

Israel sent four fire-fighting aircraft to Cyprus in June to fight a huge forest fire that raged out of control for a week in the central massif of Troodos, threatening several mountain villages.

Tsintides said Cyprus would have sent another aircraft but could not do so immediately because two foreign pilots were on leave in their countries.

Cyprus depends on two water bomber planes and four helicopters hired from Russia for the summer months to combat forest fires.

Both Cyprus and Israel, along with other countries in the region, have faced unusually dry weather this year.

There was little rain in Cyprus in October and just a short rainy spell in November, making them the driest months in the last 150 years for which records are kept. Endit