larnaca salt — larnaca salt — The cost for removing vehicles stranded in Larnaca’s salt lake has reached €7,000, including VAT, surpassing initial estimates of €5,000. The operation, which involved a complex extraction process, took place after two vehicles became immobile in the lake for a week.
Photo: in-cyprus.philenews.com
According to officials from Larnaca Municipality, a private company was tasked with the recovery, employing a specialised crane to retrieve the vehicles. The operation lasted seven hours, far longer than anticipated due to the challenging conditions of the salt lake.
Photo: in-cyprus.philenews.com
The vehicles, both owned by the same individual, have now been relocated to municipal storage. The owner is responsible for covering the recovery costs. Additionally, he faces a €2,000 fine from the Game Service for entering the protected area of the salt lake.
As of Thursday noon, the vehicle owner had not yet paid the fine or collected his vehicles. Larnaca Mayor Andreas Vyras stated that if the owner does not respond soon, the municipality will take further action according to legislation governing abandoned vehicles. “If he doesn’t appear in the coming period, the Municipality will proceed with a relevant publication, and the two vehicles will be put up for auction,” he explained.
The incident unfolded on Wednesday, October 8, when the first driver attempted to navigate the salt lake but quickly became stuck in the mud. In a bid to assist, he called a second driver, who also became immobilised.
Deputy Mayor Iasonas Iasonidis shared the unusual reason the first driver provided for entering the restricted area; he claimed to be trying to get closer to the sunset to capture better photographs with his camera.
