CYPRUS TODAY COMMEMORATES THE 13 VICTIMS OF THE EXPLOSION IN MARI

 Filenews 11 July 2024

Cyprus today commemorates the 13 victims of the explosion in Mari, which occurred on July 11, 2011 and plunged the country into mourning.

At 8 a.m., the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, will attend and deliver a memorial speech at the memorial service for Mari's heroes at the "Evangelos Florakis" Naval Base, in Mari.

He will then lay a wreath at the Heroes' Monument at the premises of EMAK in Kofinou.

The explosion of containers with ammunition at the Naval Base 'Lieutenant General Evangelos Florakis' killed Captain Andreas Ioannidis, Lieutenant Commander Lambros Lambrou, Chief Petty Officer Kleanthis Kleanthous, GCS Keleftistis Michalis Heracleous, sailors Miltos Christoforou, Christakis Christoforou and Andreas Charalambous, the Chief Sergeant of the Fire Service Andreas Papadopoulos, the Chief Firefighter George Giakoumi and firefighters Vasilis Krokos, Spyros Tantis, Panagiotis Theofilou and Adamos Adamou.

The Council of Ministers declared 13 people who fell in the line of duty as its heroes, while justice imposed sentences on those found responsible for the tragedy.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The  three deadly explosions, with the most powerful one around half past five in the morning, in the containers stored at the naval base, shocked the whole of Cyprus.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       The naval base was razed to the ground, the power station was destroyed with a significant burden on the economy and the neighbouring communities were severely damaged.

CNA