By Jean Christou
POLICE Chief Andreas Angelides yesterday appointed a committee to investigate Wednesday’s tragic accident near Paphos in which five people died and over ten were injured.
The accident happened when a truck loaded with building materials careered out of control along a two kilometre stretch of road starting in Mesoyi, smashing into five other vehicles before overturning on Evagoras Avenue in Paphos.
Ten-year old Demetris Papageorgiou, from Tsada village, and Alexandra Economidou, aged 5 from Paphos, were killed when the lorry ploughed into the vehicles in which they were travelling with their parents.
A German couple, Gerhardt and Geb Richier Hahn and their 19-year-old son Jens, staying at Goudi village, were also killed in their vehicle before the lorry overturned and came to a halt.
Yesterday, Alexandra’s mother Katy Economidou, 24, who is said to be pregnant, and the lorry driver, Turkish Cypriot Hassan Ayier, 27, were transferred to Nicosia General hospital due to the severity of their injuries.
Stavroulla Papageorgiou, 49, the mother of the dead boy, and her other son Constaninos, 13, are still in Paphos hospital along with Alexandra’s father Kyriacos Economides, 30, and Kyriacos Xenofontos, 36, the co-driver of the lorry.
Three others who were slightly injured have been treated and released from hospital.
Police said it was not certain how Ayier had lost control of the vehicle, but they are looking at the possibility that the lorry’s brakes failed. Unconfirmed reports yesterday said Ayier had lost an eye in a previous accident a year ago.
Communications and Works Minister Averof Neophytou said yesterday all measures would be taken to prevent such an accident ever happening again.
He said new laws would be passed on speed limits for trucks and other forms of public transport, and that the way licences were granted would also be examined as would the possibility of stricter checks on vehicles.
Asked why there had been such a delay in setting up centres for vehicle inspection, Neophytou admitted that not enough people had yet been hired to carry out the work.
He said the centres would be in operation by next year and that 21 inspectors had been hired. The Public Works Department and the police would also look into increasing the number of exit lanes on dangerous stretches of road, he added.
“We are talking about a complete overhaul,” Neophytou said.
Deputy chief of traffic police Andreas Papas said the Chief of Police had appointed a special committee to examine the condition of the truck that caused Wednesday’s accident.
He said police considered it to be one of the worst accidents in Cyprus in recent years.
Commenting on the accident, Diko deputy Nicos Pittokopitis told CyBC that the necessary exit roads could be built for a just few thousand pounds “so we wouldn’t have to mourn for the dead so often”.
