Authorities in Limassol are compiling a list of around 780 dangerous buildings across the district in the wake of Easter Saturday’s fatal building collapse in Germasogeia, with first estimates suggesting roughly 80 are at immediate risk of collapse, according to information obtained by Phileleftheros.
The figures emerge after two people were killed when a residential building on Aischylou Street in Germasogeia collapsed on Easter Saturday.
The building had previously been declared dangerous and its owners had been notified, but took no action, Phileleftheros reported. At the same time, the owners were collecting thousands of euros in rent from foreign tenants and through online platforms.
The Limassol District Local Government Organisation (DLGO) sent a letter on Wednesday to the owners of a separate dangerous building in a coastal Germasogeia complex — one of four blocks in the area — giving them until Monday to evacuate the structure.
The building has been declared unsuitable and dangerous, yet ten people continue to live there in squalid conditions, according to philenews sources. If the owners fail to comply, authorities said they would seal the building and take further action.
Of the estimated 780 dangerous buildings on the DLGO’s preliminary list, around half are in the urban area of Limassol and the remainder across the wider district, according to Phileleftheros’s information.
Meanwhile, investigators from the Limassol CID are working to identify the second victim of the collapse through DNA testing and fingerprints. Samples have been taken from the body, and no official confirmation of the victim’s identity has been made.
According to information gathered by authorities so far, the second victim is believed to be from an Eastern European country and had booked the apartment through the Booking.com platform a few days before the tragedy.
The apartment belongs to a private owner but is managed by a company that rents it to third parties. The company’s manager has not yet been questioned; that statement is expected in the coming days.
Phileleftheros has previously reported on the dangerous buildings problem in Germasogeia, including a block on Agios Ilarionas Street where one side of the building has no retaining wall, leaving it structurally exposed.
Despite repeated warnings, no remedial work has been carried out. One of the property owners below the block is refusing to allow access for the necessary works, according to the newspaper.
On Saturday evening, exactly one week after the collapse, friends and compatriots of the 27-year-old Nigerian victim are due to gather outside the building at 7pm to pay tribute to both victims, leaving candles and flowers in the memory of the two victims. Friends and members of the running groups Sea Legs Run and Team Runnins will also gather on Sunday to honour the memory of the 27-year-old.
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