European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn said on Thursday that the EU will do its utmost to help Cyprus through the difficult period it is facing, following a blast at the naval base “Evangelos Florakis”, near Limassol, and the subsequent destruction of the nearby power plant, at Vassiliko.

Mr. Hahn toured the Vassiliko power plant in the presence of the Interior and Commerce Ministers, the Head of the European Commission in Cyprus, MEPs and the President and members of the board of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus.

Speaking within the framework of a press conference, the European Commissioner said that he had seen many disasters in his career, but nothing like this one.

“The EU will help Cyprus to recover and an extensive report will be submitted to the European Commission concerning the destruction at the station”, he stressed.

Minister of Commerce, Antonis Paschalides said that the explosion was a tragic incident and expressed the gratitude of the Republic to the EU for the immediate response.

“Both the government and the competent Ministries will offer any assistance needed in order to prepare the report”, he added.

Mr. Hahn expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and wished for the fast recovery of the injured.

“After the blast, Cyprus received help from other EU member states, such as Greece, which shows solidarity among the EU member states”, he stressed.

“The kind of help the EU might provide through the Solidarity Fund is an issue to be examined. There is community funding available, dedicated to development of infrastructure”, he noted.

The European Commissioner finally said that he will await the insurance company’s report. “For the moment is too early to have a full picture of the damage, and in particular of the cost”, he concluded.