Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis on Saturday night said that an investigation will be “necessary” into the collapse of a block of flats in the Limassol suburb of Yermasoyia, which killed two.

“The government expresses deep sorrow for the tragedy which occurred today in Yermasoyia, with the collapse of a block of flats and the loss of human lives. The state will stand by the side of the families and the victims with practical support,” he said.

He added that “the full investigation of the causes and circumstances of the tragedy, as well as the attribution of responsibilities where these are established and proven, are a necessary condition for the prevention of similar tragedies in the future”.

The building had partially collapsed shortly after 1.30pm on Saturday, with one dead body being pulled from the rubble at 5.30pm, and another two hours later.

Additionally, three more people were taken by ambulance to hospital, but their conditions are said to be less severe.

Meanwhile, Marinos Kyriakou, the deputy mayor of the borough of Ayios Athanasios, which covers Yermasoyia, told reporters that the building had previously been deemed unsuitable for human habitation, and that the Limassol district government had sent letters to its owners to this end.

He added that similar letters had been sent to the owners by the old Yermasoyia municipality before the 2024 local government reforms.

“I do not know if such a tragic event has ever happened in Cyprus. A building collapses and we have dead people,” he said.

Costas Michael, the chief of the Limassol police’s criminal investigations department, said that the building comprised 11 flats, and that “at least 20” people were living in it.

He added that the police have launched an investigation into the matter.

On Sunday, the scientific and technical chamber (Etek) said that the incident “demonstrates a problem which is observed in several dangerous buildings in our country”.

“Specifically, several owners do not take the necessary measures to ensure that their building is in a condition which does not pose a risk to users and passersby,” it said, before adding that building owners “bear full responsibility for the condition of their building”.

“It is understood that, beyond any legal obligation, it is in any case unthinkable for buildings which are deemed dangerous to be in use, let alone be put up for rent, putting the lives of tenants and the public at immediate risk,” it said.

It added that “it is clear that the existing measures for the management of dangerous buildings are not effective to the extent necessary to address the problem”.

As such, it said that regular building inspections must take place across the island, “to ensure that the necessary measures to repair any damage or deterioration to buildings are taken promptly and at a stage before the building becomes dangerous”.

It also said that after May’s election, the new parliament should pass a bill explicitly banning, among other things, the renting of any dangerous building, with a bill on this matter having been drafted by parliament earlier this year.

“At the same time, every owner of a building which has been deemed unsuitable for use should consider the responsibility he bears towards the people who reside in it, but also towards society at large,” it said.