A fire that broke out near the community of Yiolou in the Paphos district on Wednesday afternoon has been extinguished, the fire department said.

Strong ground forces and aircraft were deployed to tackle the blaze, with aircraft dropping water from above as crews worked to contain the fire.

The forestry department said the fire service had operational responsibility for the incident and requested its assistance.

Five fire engines, two water tankers, 23 forest firefighters and three forestry officers were deployed to the area.

Additional forestry department personnel were placed on standby in case further assistance was needed.

Footage released by volunteer firefighting group Atlas showed the fire burning close to houses in the area.