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- Ελληνικά
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is with sadness that we remember these days the tragedy that struck the National Guard on July 10, 2002 with the fatal crash of the helicopter "Bell" in Kouklia, Paphos, which caused the tragic death of the Chief of the National Guard, Lieutenant General Evangelos Florakis, Brigadier General Stylianos Demenega, his aide Lieutenant Nikolaos Sergiou, as well as the crew members Captain Paris Athanasiadis and Lieutenant Michael Siakalis. Always on the alert, Chief Florakis was travelling with the fatal helicopter to the "Andreas Papandreou" airbase in Paphos to watch a National Guard exercise. A man of works, he worked tirelessly for the integrity of the National Guard and fell in the line of duty, serving the Cyprus he loved so much.
And nine years later, exactly thirteen years ago, on 11 July 2011, the deadly explosion at the naval base "Evangelos Florakis" in Mari took place, which on Monday morning claimed the lives of thirteen lads of the Navy and the Fire Service, plunging the whole of Cyprus into mourning. The explosion flattened the naval base and severely damaged the power station at Vasilikos. This horrible accident, which has marked our memory, calls us as a state to be vigilant so that similar tragic events never happen again.
I invite you to observe a minute's silence in memory of the victims of the crash of the National Guard helicopter and of our compatriots who, with self-denial and a heavy sense of responsibility in Mari, performed their duty to their homeland in full.
(Observance of one-minute silence)
Eternal memory!
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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