Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosion
On 11 July 2011, at Evangelos Florakis Naval Base, situated at Mari, Larnaca in Cyprus, a large amount of ammunition and military explosives self-detonated, killing 13 people, including the Commander of the Cyprus Navy, Andreas Ioannides, the base commander, Lambros Lambrou, and six firefighters. A further 62 people were injured. The explosion was the worst peacetime military accident ever recorded in Cyprus, with a yield of approximately 481 tons TNT equivalent, as determined by the official investigation into the accident. It was the largest artificial non-nuclear explosion of the 21st century until the 2020 Beirut explosions.
The crater produced by the explosion, photographed in 2013
The remains of a box of small-arms ammunition, found after the explosion
The Vasilikos power station two days after the explosion
Electricity Authority of Cyprus
The Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) was founded in 1952 by the British colonial government. The 28 private electricity companies of the time were nationalized and absorbed into the EAC. The Authority never received any subsidies from the government as these have always been prohibited by law. Its head office is located in Strovolos. The EAC currently holds a near monopoly on electricity generation in Cyprus. It operates through three power stations with a total capacity of 1460 MW:Dhekelia Power Station - 460 MW
Moni Power Station - 150 MW
Vasilikos Power Station - 868 MW
The headquarters of the Authority