A survivor of the residential building collapse in Germasogeia that killed two people on Easter Saturday has described how he escaped the rubble moments after the building came down around him, saying he does not know how he survived.
He has since lost everything, including his friend and flatmate who died in the collapse.
Rafail, speaking to Sigma TV, gave a first-hand account of the moments before and after the collapse. “The incident happened on Saturday around midday. I was getting ready to go to the gym when my flatmate came back from his workout. When the building collapsed I was inside with my flatmate. I don’t know how I managed to stay alive, but only God knows why I am alive. When I got outside I called out to my friend but he was still inside. An ambulance came immediately and took me along with another person. I stayed there for treatment and then went to the police station,” he said.
Part of the residential building on Aeschylou Street in Germasogeia collapsed shortly before 1:30pm on Easter Saturday, triggering a large-scale emergency response involving firefighters, police, EMAK and civil defence units. The first body was recovered at around 17:30, with a second recovered hours later. Three injured people were taken to hospital and are out of danger. The building mainly housed foreign residents, with preliminary estimates suggesting around 20 people lived in its 10 to 11 apartments.
Rafail described the aftermath of the collapse and what he and other survivors now face. “Now we have lost everything, we have nothing. We lost the money we worked for, I lost everything in that building. I lost my friend, my brother, I heard he is dead. The most painful thing is that he came here alive but now he has lost his life. We don’t know how to handle this situation, we need help from the Government and from wherever else is possible. We don’t know how long we will stay in the hotel — they may tell us to leave tomorrow,” he said.
The building had been officially classified as dangerous prior to the collapse, with formal notices sent to the owners by the Department of Town Planning and Housing. The Germasogeia municipality had also issued earlier warnings urging repairs due to structural concerns. Acting Mayor Marinos Kyriakou said he did not know if such a tragedy had ever happened before in Cyprus, describing it as unprecedented.
Following the incident, the Cyprus Scientific and Technical Chamber (ETEK) raised serious concerns that numerous buildings across the country remain in conditions that threaten public safety, noting that many property owners are failing to take necessary measures to ensure their buildings are structurally sound.
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