CYPRUS: Victims of Mari blast declared heroes

The Council of Ministers decided on Wednesday to pay tribute to the 13 victims of the explosion of July 11, 2011, at the Evangelos Florakis naval base, in Mari, by declaring them heroes.

According to the decision, the Council of Ministers of Cyprus, taking into consideration the sacrifice of the victims, who selflessly fought to save the base, placing their duty above their lives, decided to declare them heroes, offering their families all the benefits of the next rank they were promoted to posthumously.
Furthermore, the Council of Ministers decided to increase to €10,000 the amounts given per year by the state scholarship fund to all children of the victims, as well as the siblings of the childless victims, for studies in Cyprus or abroad, both for undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

The munitions had been seized from "Monchegorsk", a ship that sailed from Iran. They were confiscated in February 2009 after it was determined they were in breach of UN Security Council resolutions on Iran. They had been stored at the Evangelos Florakis base in containers that were left exposed to the elements until the day they exploded, killing seven sailors and six firefighters. The shock wave of the blast caused significant damage to the island’s biggest power station, located in the area, which had an effect on the economy.