Two people have died in a car in a forest fire that has engulfed southern Cyprus amid soaring temperatures expected to rise to 44 degrees Celsius on Thursday, BBC News reported.

Cypriot police said two charred bodies were found in a burnt-out car after the blaze broke out in the village of Malia near Limassol on Wednesday afternoon.

The bodies have yet to be formally identified, but local media reports that the car belonged to a 77-year-old woman who had been reported missing. It is believed to be an elderly couple from the area.

More than a dozen other people have been treated for injuries related to the fire, which has already destroyed homes and devastated 100 square kilometers of land.

More than 250 firefighters have been deployed to fight the fire, which has intensified due to strong winds and soaring temperatures.

Cyprus Fire Service spokesman Andreas Kettis said there were no “active fronts” of the fire, but “outbreaks” continued in the area. Several communities were left without electricity and air conditioning as a result of the fire, which engulfed residential homes.