Cyprus rescuers save 21 people after rowing boat capsizes off Limassol

A rowing boat capsized off Dasoudi beach in Limassol, Cyprus, on Monday morning, throwing all 21 people on board into the sea and setting off a large search-and-rescue operation, Philenews and In-Cyprus reported. Everyone was pulled to safety. Neither report said what caused the boat to capsize.

Cyprus's Joint Rescue Coordination Centre activated the country's national search-and-rescue plan, called Nearchos, at 11.15am on 28 September to save the 21 people, Philenews reported. Paramedics who examined the group on the shore found them all in good health, and they were released without needing further treatment, In-Cyprus reported.

The rescue operation drew on a wide range of emergency resources, Philenews reported: helicopters from the police's Aviation Operations Unit and the National Guard's 460th Search and Rescue Squadron, vessels from the Port and Marine Police, a lifeguard boat from the Limassol District Administration, Limassol police officers on the ground, and ambulances from the state health services organisation.

In a separate incident in Limassol this week, police defused a powerful homemade explosive device found outside a shop in the Mesa Geitonia area in the early hours of Tuesday, Politis reported. Officers had received a tip about a suspicious motorcyclist near the shop shortly after 2.30am; when police arrived, the rider sped away and a chase failed to catch him. Searching the area outside the shop, officers found the device, which had not gone off, and a police bomb disposal officer made it safe. Limassol's serious crime squad is continuing to investigate, and police did not say what type of shop was targeted or whether it had been open at the time.