ETEK probes Agios Dometios wall collapse during excavation

Local NicosiapropertiesTop News ETEK probes Agios Dometios wall collapse during excavation Image 504 Relevant News ETEK probes Agios Dometios wall collapse during excavation 25 July 2026 Guterres seeks deliverables from Cyprus visit, sources say 25 July 2026 Kontides wins silver at Los Angeles Sailing Grand Slam 25 July 2026 Newsroom 25 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber The Cyprus Scientific and Technical Chamber (ETEK) has appointed an expert to investigate the collapse of a boundary wall at an apartment building in Agios Dometios, which occurred during excavation work on a neighbouring plot, ETEK President Konstantinos Konstanti said. He added that the Chamber will put forward specific measures on deep excavations to the relevant authorities. ETEK First Vice-President and President of the European Council of Civil Engineers (ECCE) Platonas Stylianou said it appeared, at first glance, that no protective measures had been taken for the works on the plot in Agios Dometios. “DLGO Nicosia asked for ETEK’s assistance, and we appointed an expert on an emergency basis yesterday, who went to the site and prepared an initial report. He is waiting for the terms of reference from DLGO Nicosia to proceed with a more detailed report,” Konstanti said. “The issue is what measures should be taken during the deep excavation stage when deep excavations are carried out. We identified that this gap existed, and months ago we appointed a team of people with experience in excavation issues and how they affect neighbouring plots,” the ETEK President noted. Konstanti said ETEK has completed a manual and specific terms that the relevant authorities should include in building permits where neighbouring buildings exist, so that all necessary factors are taken into account and incidents like this one are avoided. He said appropriate machinery should be used to avoid strong vibrations that could cause cracks in neighbouring buildings. He added that excavations carried out next to neighbouring properties should include measures to prevent the ground beneath the foundations of neighbouring buildings from subsiding, in order to avoid damage such as the collapse of boundary walls. He also said ETEK will encourage the relevant authorities to include the relevant plans as conditions in building permits. Concluding, the ETEK President said that consultants, architects and civil engineers should ensure the necessary measures are taken during deep excavations so that neighbouring properties are not affected. “From what we saw in the photographs, it appeared that no protective measures were in place,” said Stylianou. He said protective measures for excavation slopes are provided for, and that legislation on occupational safety and health includes relevant provisions. Explaining the measures involved, he said open excavations use retention methods such as sprayed concrete to hold slopes in place, or special retention systems using metal beams, noting that applying these requires a specific retention study by a civil engineer. He added that the legislation sets out specific measures and requires a study by a geotechnical engineer and a civil engineer, to ensure the stability of excavation slopes and the protection of both neighbouring and new structures. “An expert has been appointed and will investigate all these issues. At first glance, it appears there were no particular studies carried out,” Stylianou said. “This is yet another sign that as a society we fall short on prevention measures. We lack the willingness to spend even five more euros on studies to do things properly, and we prefer to pay thousands of euros afterwards to fix our mistakes,” he said in closing. Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Guterres seeks deliverables from Cyprus visit, sources say Kontides wins silver at Los Angeles Sailing Grand Slam Bordeaux wildfires spread as 141,000 forced to flee E-kalathi reveals wide price gaps between supermarkets as inflation continues to bite Lifeguards save swimmer from drowning in Paphos rough seas Drousiotis faces up to 7 years over forged documents in “Sandy” case charges Christodoulides, Mitsotakis to coordinate ahead of Guterres visit Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.