Bodies of 4 Egyptian citizens who died in Cyprus fire arrived in Cairo airport

CAIRO – 10 July 2021: Ambassador Amr Mahmoud Abbas, assistant foreign minister for consular affairs, was present at the Cairo International Airport this evening to receive the bodies of Egyptian citizens who died in recent Cyprus fires.

A statement issued by the Foreign Ministry on Sunday said the Egyptian embassy formed an operation room to contact the Cypriot officials topped by the ministers of foreign affairs, interior and health who showed cooperation with the Egyptian embassy.

The Egyptian ambassador and diplomats moved to the site of the fire to follow up the developments of the incident in preparation for finalizing procedures of sending home the bodies of the dead as soon as possible.

The Foreign ministry offered condolence to the families of the victims.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades had described the fire as a tragedy, FranceTVInfo reported Sunday.

"It is a tragedy," President Nicos Anastasiades said on Twitter, describing the blaze as "the largest fire since 1974."

The blaze had caused "loss of life" and destroyed property and forest lands, Anastasiades said, adding that "the government will provide immediate assistance to the victims and the families of the victims.

"We will not leave anyone abandoned in the destruction of the fire," said the president.

Abbas attended the reception of the bodies and extended condolences to the relatives of the victims who were at the airport.

He also paid tribute to the Cypriot authorities’ efforts and cooperation with the Egyptian authorities to end all procedures.

For his part, the Cypriot ambassador offered his country's sincere condolences to the families of the victims of the tragic accident.

MENA contributed to the story.