Authorities continued investigations on Friday into the circumstances under which a fifth-floor balcony in Limassol collapsed onto the one underneath, prompting Civil Defence to evacuate all 56 apartments in the block the previous day.
The building in the Rousos Olympic Palace complex is situated on the corner of Georgios Katsounotos and Christodoulos Hadjipavlou streets.
The balcony fell at around 10am on Thursday morning. No casualties were reported.
Limassol EOA chairman Yiannis Tsouloftas told the Cyprus News Agency that a balcony had crumbled on the same building in 2022.
After Thursday’s incident, the EOA immediately cooperated with the Civil Defence to evacuate the building, acting on an interior ministry order.
Tenants were moved to alternative accommodation for “a couple of days”.
Make the building safe again
According to Tsouloftas, the owners of the apartments must now appoint a civil engineer to carry out repairs and make the building safe again.
The building had already been listed as dangerous and a solicitor’s office had been assigned to proceed with evacuation orders.
The complex comprises two blocks. There are 38 flats in Block A and 18 in Block B, where the balcony fell.
It is reportedly not the first time a balcony has collapsed on the building.
There are currently approximately 1,100 dangerous buildings listed in Limassol.
In June, a block of flats in Limassol was evacuated after two balconies collapsed onto the street below.
Earlier this month, the Cyprus property developers’ association called for regular technical inspections of buildings and to expedite legislation covering dangerous buildings, saying that “there is no longer any room for further delays.”
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