Human remains were found during military excavations carried out at Makedonitissa area in Nicosia, for Noratlas, a Greek military plane shot down by friendly fire during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
Commissioner for Humanitarian Issues Photis Photiou, speaking to the press on Tuesday, said that this is an extremely important development, urging the media to show the necessary respect as the issue is very sensitive.
He did not say whether the number of bones found is large or small, pointing out that when all human remains are located, the identification process will begin and then the remains will be given to the relatives. He added that announcements will be made to the press when appropriate.
Photiou assured the relatives of those killed that hard work will continue to reach the desired results.
According to Photiou, all appropriate measures are being taken for the safety of personnel working at the site.
Asked if the human remains were found inside the fuselage of the aircraft, Photiou said that it was too early to go into these details.
He said that main goal when works were beginning was to find human remains and thus this development is very important.
Photiou also expressed his appreciation and gratitude to everyone working at the site for their professionalism and dedication. He noted that despite the difficulties particularly as regards safety issues, the works fall within the timeframe set.
The aircraft equipped with the state of the art military hardware, was part of a secret mission from Greece to send reinforcements to the Greek Cypriot National Guard fighting the advancing Turkish troops, which invaded Cyprus on July 20, 1974. The plane was shot down on July 22 by friendly fire as Greek Cypriot soldiers mistook it for a hostile aircraft. All but one of its airmen were killed. Thirty-two men were on board the Greek NORATLAS.
The Council of Ministers decided in February 2014 to proceed with the excavations for NORATLAS following a case against the Republic of Cyprus brought before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2007 by the families of two Greek military officers who perished in NORATLAS. The Court unanimously declared the application by the families of the dead airmen inadmissible.