Akamas road controversy resurfaces after second buggy accident (Updated)

The Green Party on Monday reiterated its demand for the closure of a dangerous road in Akamas, following two buggy accidents, one of them fatal, within the last two weeks.

The party’s announcement was issued as police said early on Monday they are investigating the causes of another buggy accident in Akamas that resulted in the injury of two men.

The two passengers, men aged 21 and 23, were driving the buggy in Smigies area at around 4.15pm on Sunday, when, under conditions that are being investigated, they fell down a 2.5 metre cliff.

They were transferred via ambulance to hospital, where the 21-year-old received first aid and was released.

Doctors kept the 23-year-old in hospital as a precaution.

This was the second buggy accident reported in Akamas this month, as on August 8, a 59-year-old man died after the buggy he was in with his daughter, 20, fell off a 150-metre cliff in the Akamas area and then into the sea. His daughter was seriously injured.

Following the fatal accident, the state of the road was condemned by both local authorities and the Green Party but for different reasons.

The former want the road upgraded and made safer for vehicles while the Greens environmentalists want it closed to vehicle access by the public for environmental and safety reasons.

The road from the Baths of Aphrodite to Fontana Amorosa used to be closed with a barrier gate and was available only for animal breeders, the forest department and walkers, Natasa Ioannou on behalf of the Green Party said on Monday.

For years, however, the road has opened, and it has seen increased traffic of four-wheel drive vehicles and buggies.

The danger of the specific road “is known to all”, Ioannou added.

Works which amounted to “a huge environmental disaster” were carried out in the past to widen the road, without any studies having been carried out beforehand, the Green party representative said.

The Green party had previously highlighted the environmental impact of the arbitrary use of four-wheeled motorbikes and buggies in Akamas.

“The blatant illegalities in the area are unfortunately going unnoticed by everyone,” as any decisions in the area are taken based on “the great economic interests”, the party had said earlier in August.

Meanwhile, Kalo Chorio community leader Andreas Christodoulou Machimos had asked for works to be carried out to make the road safe for traffic.

According to Machimos, local authorities had repeatedly requested work to be carried out on the road and a security rail installed to make the road safer.