Soldier killed by lightning

AN 18-year-old soldier was killed yesterday after he was struck by lightning while taking part in exercises at a firing range on the Troodos mountain range.

A Defence Ministry statement said sergeant Andreas Makloklas from Nicosia was killed at around 11.45am when he was struck by lightning during a brief storm at the Xintou firing range.

The 18-year-old was rushed to the Evrychou medical centre where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

A second soldier who was on the scene, and was close friends with Makloklas, suffered a nervous breakdown and was rushed to Nicosia hospital, reports said.

The defence ministry has ordered an investigation into the circumstances of the incident.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.