Cyprus has faced a series of incidents resulting in loss across the island. Although each incident differs from the others, common threads run through them: questions of safety, prevention and individual responsibility.
Mother drowns at CTO beach in Larnaca
A 35-year-old mother drowned at the CTO beach in Larnaca, in the most recent of the tragedies. The drowning happened on the afternoon of August 15, at a time when the beach had no lifeguard cover, as lifeguards had already finished their shift for the day. The woman’s two daughters, aged 12 and 14, were with her at the time and were also swept into danger, but other beachgoers rescued them. One of the girls remains in hospital.
Two brothers found dead in father’s car after visiting him
Two brothers, aged 8 and 10, travelled to Cyprus for a short holiday to see their father and were found dead in his vehicle on the afternoon of June 28, in a case that caused shock across Cyprus.
The children’s father, 30, was arrested over the case and remains in custody. The British Bases Court rejected his request to attend his sons’ funeral in Bulgaria.
Three-year-old falls from hotel’s fourth floor
A three-year-old child died on the afternoon of July 12 after falling from the fourth floor of a hotel in Paphos. The child’s British family was on holiday in Cyprus at the time. Police said the boy fell while playing with his 37-year-old father as they waited for a lift, slipping from his father’s hands and falling through an open window in front of them. The father was arrested but was later granted permission to travel to Britain for his son’s burial.
Two girls drown, trapped by breakwaters while swimming
A group of five girls went swimming at a beach in Oroklini on June 18, and two of them drowned. The girls, aged 20, from Somalia, were swept away by sea currents and died among the breakwaters. The beach has a lifeguard tower, but it was unmanned at the time, philenews notes.
34-year-old drowns off Limassol beach
A 34-year-old Israeli man, who had come to Cyprus on holiday with his family, drowned in the sea off a beach in Limassol on August 4.
Family members searched for him for hours along the coastline and in the water. Rescuers launched a search at the scene, and the man was later found floating in the sea. Lifeguards pulled him from the water and an ambulance was called, but he was pronounced dead despite efforts to save him.
