Aftermath of Cyprus explosion 12.07.11
15Schools remain closed across all four British military bases in Cyprus following yesterday's explosion that knocked out the island's largest power station. Twelve people were killed in the blast including the head of Cyprus' Navy Andreas Ioannides. The commander of the Evangelos Florakis base, Lambros Lambrou, also died. Power was restored to RAF Akrotiri, Episkopi, Dhekelia and Ayios Nikolaos overnight and things are currently running as normal. The Cyprus Electric Authority have said they are trying to keep the impact on vital sectors to a minimum but the Sovereign base areas have been warned that they may experience power interruptions over the next 24 hours The majority of shops and cafes are open for business but due to the power uncertainty Service Children's Education took the decision to close the schools for another day. They will assess the situation and decide later on whether or not they open for the rest of the week. The Vassilikou power station went offline when containers of Iranian arms seized from a vessel in 2009 exploded at a Cypriot naval base yesterday morning. The Defence Minister and Military Chief have resigned over the incident.