THE Electricity Authority (EAC) did not know the contents of 98 containers located at a naval base, which eventually exploded and incapacitated the neigbouring main power plant, a top official said yesterday.
EAC director Stelios Stylianou told an inquiry that the semi-state company had no knowledge of the cargo, located around 200 metres from the Vassilikos power plant, separated only by an embankment.
The inquiry has previously heard that the plant’s director, Antonis Ioannou, had sent an email to the HQ on February, 2009, with photos showing the area where a concrete base was being constructed to hold the cargo.
The containers were initially stacked at a different location on the base and were later moved to where they eventually exploded on July 11, killing 13.
Stylianou, who was not the EAC director at the time, said he had no information on the matter.
After the blast the EAC searched its archives but did not find any document regarding the cargo apart from two photographs found on a computer belonging to the recipient of Ioannou’s email.
Investigator Polys Polyviou pointed out that it remained undisputed that Ioannou, after learning from the media that the explosives would be placed there, send a report to his superior.
“Shouldn’t there be a record of this?”
“What we heard came from statements to the media, which in fact said the material was inert and could even be stored in the city centre,” Stylianou said. “There was no reason to investigate any further. We were reassured by the statements,” Stylianou said.
Earlier yesterday, a navy officer testified that former National Guard commander Constantinos Bisbikas had not made any reference to Mari – the area of the naval base – during a February 2, 2009 meeting at the presidential palace concerning storage of the munitions.
Both the minutes from that meeting – attended by politicians and military staff — and former defence minister Costas Papacostas said Bisbikas had recommended the naval base as the best of three possible locations, though the former commander denies that.
Asked if there had been any reference to Mari during the meeting, Constantinos Fytiris, who had been present, said the matter did not come up.
“No reference had been made on unloading and storing the material while I was in the meeting,” Fytiris said, adding that Bisbikas spoke about the security of the ship carrying the cargo.
Quoting the minutes of the meeting, Polyviou said the National Guard commander said he had found a safe location to store the containers.
“Do you remember him saying that?” Polyviou said.
Fytiris said he could not remember the chief saying that.
The officer said at some stage the military were asked to leave the meeting but he was not sure if Bisbikas had also departed.
When asked, Fytiris said he got the impression there were two meetings of sorts – one with the military and one with just the politicians.
