Another black page was written in the National Guard after the unexpected loss of ranger Panagiotis Gianniou from Nicosia, who breathed his last yesterday in the intensive care unit of the capital's General Hospital.
The 27-year-old experienced SYOP fought but did not make it after the terrible accident he had last Monday during an exercise and when he fell into the sea from a helicopter.
- "Struggling" SYOP injured in the line of duty-Called for investigation by the Ministry of Defence. "From normal height he fell into the sea"
[*]EXTRAORDINARY: Serious injury to soldier who jumped from helicopter in Paphos
[*]Tragedy in the National Guard. Dead commando who was battling in intensive care after an accident
Cyprus mourns
the loss of three National Guardsmen who "died" in May 2021 during exercises. The deaths of young people in peacetime serving in the National Guard are, to say the least, sad and troubling.
The funeral of the commando will be held at public expense and with all due honours.
The funeral of the commando will be held at public expense and with all due honours. Details are expected to be duly announced in the coming hours.
His colleagues were waiting for a signal... They immediately realized that something went wrong - What testimonies report
The investigation ordered and conducted to establish the exact causes and circumstances that led to the new tragedy is continuing at a rapid pace.
The Deputy Commander of the Operational Headquarters, Brigadier General Solomos Solomos and former Commander of the Commandos, as the Cyprus Times Times was given clear instructions by the leadership of the National Guard for a speedy investigation.
He is a Brigadier General with extensive experience in the training of commandos and it is believed that in the coming days he will have completed the investigation requested by the Chief of the National Guard, Lieutenant General Demokritos Zervakis.
Secure information says that a number of statements
have already been taken from persons who were at the site of the exercise and witnessed the tragic, as it turned out, incident. An update on what happened at the time of the 27-year-old's injury was also given by the team leader leading the exercise.
Same sources note that the colleagues of the unfortunate commando realized immediately that something went wrong, as the 27-year-old fell into the water from the helicopter in the wrong way - that is, sideways and not with his feet - which was not justified since he was an experienced National Guardsman who had been performing these exercises for years.
As the Cyprus Times is able to know, his colleagues as is customary after a fall into the sea, expected a characteristic signal from the commando that he was okay, which did not happen. They immediately rushed and retrieved him, leading him to land, in order to receive first aid.
It is recalled that in his statements to our website the spokesman of the Ministry of Defence, Christos Pieris, had pointed out that the height of the fall from the helicopter was correct, but the way the SYOP fell into the water was wrong.
However, it is still being investigated whether the unfortunate 27-year-old suffered any heart problem during his fall into the sea.
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
