On November 5, 2009, the tragedy that unfolded in the outpost of the opposition line in Nicosia, where Lieutenant Charalambos Charalambous, 29, was killed after a grenade blast, is written in the history of the National Guard in black. three young children.
It was 10 and 50 in the morning.
During the process of counting ammunition, a deafening explosion was heard in the ammunition area of the outpost.
At some point the lieutenant took a grenade and started processing it. The defective grenade exploded, hitting him with 2.500 steel bullets.
A few meters away from the site of the explosion, there was a probationary officer and two soldiers, who were frightened to see the bloodied body of the unfortunate lieutenant.
Scenes of insanity unfolded in the area while frightened soldiers came out of the outpost and shouted that there was an explosion. The space was filled with people in burgundy uniforms drowned in pain. They could not believe their eyes that the lieutenant with whom they had been drinking coffee a while ago, had been killed on duty.
He covered the grenade with his body and saved 3 soldiers…
The unfortunate lieutenant after removing the first safety pin tried with both hands to return the grenade to its original position.
When he realized that something went wrong and the explosion would be caused, he covered the grenade with his body, so that the other 3 soldiers would not be hit by the bullets. He placed her near his chest while ordering them to leave the area. And that's how it happened. The soldiers managed to get away and in 5 seconds the grenade exploded…
The probationer turned after a few seconds and found his captain dismembered in a pool of blood, lying face down. He saw that he was dead. He then went outside and called the hospital and the GEEF with his mobile phone.
Defective grenade launcher and not "human error"
Shortly after the tragedy, the then Minister of Defense, Costas Papakostas, had stated that the lieutenant had been killed by "human error".
Finally, after investigations, it was found that the 29-year-old died from a defective gun grenade and not a human error.
The investigation showed that not only the specific deadly grenade but also thousands of others of the same type, were damaged in the warehouses of the National Guard. Specifically, a plastic housing that held the trigger mechanism was broken.
Source: Reporter.com.cy