Israel on Thursday said it will send Israeli Air Force aircraft to Cyprus this evening to assist with putting out a massive wildfire that is sweeping through the Mediterranean island, which local authorities said killed two people.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and his Cypriot counterpart, Constantinos Kombos, “remain in close and continuous contact to ensure that the aid is delivered and deployed as swiftly as possible,” the Foreign Ministry said.

“Israel stands with Cyprus, a close friend and neighbor, and remains committed to offering assistance in times of emergency,” the ministry added.

Cypriot police said two charred bodies were found in a burnt-out car believed to have been caught up in the blaze that erupted on Wednesday afternoon.

“We express the deep sorrow of the state over the unjust loss of two of our fellow citizens during the devastating wildfires,” said Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis.

Announcing relief measures for the affected communities, Letymbiotis said that “what is unfolding in our country… is unprecedented” with “multiple simultaneous wildfire outbreaks.”

Letymbiotis also said Spain would be sending two firefighting aircraft Thursday morning to assist local crews. Jordan is helping with two of its own helicopters, which had been deployed in Cyprus for firefighting. An RAF Chinook helicopter that operates from one of two British Bases on Cyprus is also assisting.

Health authorities said two people were admitted to hospital with severe burns, while another 16 were treated for less serious injuries.

Fire service spokesperson Andreas Kettis said the blaze, which started in the village of Malia in the hills above Limassol, ravaged 100 square kilometers (nearly 40 square miles).

He said there were “no active fronts” in the fire, but intense “flare-ups” continued in the area.

Authorities issued an extreme heat alert for the Mediterranean holiday island as temperatures were expected to peak at 44°C (111°F).

More than 250 firefighters and 75 vehicles were deployed to battle the blaze.

Hartsiotis said 106 people had to spend the night in temporary accommodation after several villages were evacuated in the face of the advancing flames.

The fire forced the evacuation of 14 villages along a 14-kilometer (8.7-mile) stretch of mountainous terrain. Media reports showed gutted homes smoldering as flames swept through the outskirts of some villages. In the village of Lofou, at least 20 homes were destroyed as fires threatened a group of stranded evacuees whose police buses had to turn back as the fire front shifted to block their exit.

Images broadcast on media late Wednesday showed flames consuming trees, brush, and other vegetation along a huge front burning bright orange against the backdrop of a nighttime sky.

“When I entered my house, I saw the mountain and the valley full of flames,” said Antonis Christou, a resident of Kandou, one of the villages affected by the fire.

“I cried, really I cried, because people got burnt, and someone got burnt while in his car.”

Fire service chief Nikos Longinos told CyBC that he had passed on witness testimony to the police, which suggested that the blaze might have been started deliberately.

Cyprus is hit by wildfires almost every year during the island’s hot, dry summers. A 2021 wildfire in the Larnaca district killed four Egyptian farmworkers.