Driving To Cyprus

Cyprus Fire That Killed Eight Spread From Power Station to Munitions Store

A fire and explosion at a Cyprus naval base that damaged an adjacent power plant killed 12 people, injured 62 others and knocked out 50 percent of the island’s electricity supply, the Cyprus government said.

A bush fire, which started in dry grass about 4 a.m. local time, spread to explosives stored at the Evangelos Florakis naval base in Mari on the southern coast and set off munitions seized from a ship in 2009, state broadcaster CyBC said.

“Of the 62 injured, two are in a serious condition,” government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou told reporters in Nicosia today. “The exact cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but we are ruling out sabotage based on current information.”

Both the Cypriot Defense Minister Costas Papacostas and Army Chief Petros Tsalikides resigned and both resignations were accepted, he said. Cyprus has declared three days of national mourning.

Among those killed were four soldiers, two sailors and five firefighters and an unknown number are missing, CyBC reported. Many of those injured were driving past the plant and base and were hit by flying metal, Health Minister Christos Patsalides said.

Damage to the Vassilikos plant, the country’s largest, knocked out about half the island’s power-producing capacity, the energy regulator said. Generation island-wide, which fell to 140 megawatts at the time of the incident from about 700 megawatts, rose to 560 megawatts as of 3:00 p.m., local time, according to the Cyprus Transmission System Operator .

The disabled plant accounts for 767 megawatts of Cyprus’s total power generation capacity of 1,436 megawatts, according to the operator’s website. “Whether it will take weeks or months to restart the plant is something we can’t say at the moment,” Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) spokesman Costas Gavrielides said in a telephone interview.

Fifty firefighters and 10 fire trucks fought the blaze, said a fire official who declined to be identified. Leonidas Leonidou, spokesman for the fire department, said the fire at the base was under partial control and some fires still burning at the power station didn’t threaten the fuel depots.

Electricity demand for air conditioning in Cyprus, one of Europe ’s hottest countries, peaks in the summer. The EAC, the island’s state-run power company, asked consumers to cut power usage and not use air conditioners after the explosion at the nearby naval base damaged the distribution network, according to an e-mailed statement.

Summertime Getaways you Never Thought About

It’s easy to get into a vacation rut. Every year you head to the same city or resort and you do the same things that you did last year and the year before. Or maybe you try to change things up and head to a different location but still find yourself engaged in the same activities. But there are some amazing and unusual summertime getaways that you’ve probably never even thought of. And the great thing about these summertime adventures is that you don’t have to plan every last detail to make sure that you are getting the most out of your vacation time. The great thing about an African safari is that you can plan one according to your schedule AND your budget. You can go for a safari package or have one custom made. Depending on how involved you want your safari to be, you can stay in tents along the way or motels. Either way you will be up close and personal with the wildlife in Africa while also emerging yourself in the culture. And with guides who know the area like the back of their hands, you will have the benefit of combining adventure with safety. There’s nothing like taking a step back in time and really enjoying the history of a country when traveling. And what better way to do that then to actually stay amidst the history? There are numerous castles in Ireland that have been restored and turned into hotels. Can you imagine anything more decedent that touring Ireland and staying in a castle at each stop? When your vacation starts, you want to get the most out of the time. So do you really want to spend a day driving to your destination? Or being cramped in an air plane? With a Canada train vacation, the travel part of your vacation is actually a fun part of the whole experience. You get to see the startling Canadian wilderness in all its glory as you travel the Rocky Mountains,c or you can opt for something a bit more urban, like a trip from Toronto to Montreal. You can have a completely relaxing vacation on the train or incorporated it into a larger vacation. Either way there’s nothing like a Canadian train ride to kick start some summertime fun. Have you always wondered what it’s like to stay on an actual battleship? Well, you can! This decommissioned battleship does double duty now as a museum and it floats, and a very unique hotel of sorts. You can stay overnight and get a real feel for how sailors live.

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Cyprus

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