The sea at Cape Greco , Cyprus, changed in a matter of minutes on Saturday afternoon. The severe bad weather that occurred in the area brought severe sea turbulence, and the three boats that were at that time in the bay between Konnos and Agioi Anargyri suddenly found themselves in serious danger. Two ended up at the bottom. Five people were saved. One was not.
Dimis Mavropoulos , 76, a well-known Greek Cypriot businessman, is the victim of the tragedy. As reported by philenews , he was missing after his boat sank and was found unconscious by divers after a major search and rescue operation. He was airlifted to hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.
The events unfolded at a speed that did not leave much room. A coastal tourist boat was the first to retreat. The person on board escaped by jumping onto the rocks and was then removed with the help of members of the Police . Drones and helicopters immediately rushed to the scene.
The second boat, a pleasure boat, was carrying the Mavropoulou family. The 76-year-old’s partner and daughter managed to fall into the sea and were rescued with the help of helicopters. He did not make it. The boat sank and initial indications suggest that he may have been trapped in the wreckage . Two more people on board were rescued from the third boat, which was also in danger of sinking, and are in good health.
The name of the man who was lost is familiar throughout Cyprus. Dimis Mavropoulos was a recognizable figure in three different worlds at once, in entrepreneurship , in motorsports and in the social life of Limassol .
He was born in 1949 in Limassol and began, continuing the family tradition, in the trade and export of Cypriot agricultural products to the British market. Over the years, he significantly expanded his activity, with investments that expanded, among others, into the real estate sector.
His passion, however, was the car. Since the late 1960s he had been competing in rallies , driving cars of different manufacturers and leaving his mark on the Cypriot special stages. His big year was 1986 , when he won the Cyprus Rally Championship and finished second in the Rothmans International Cyprus Rally .
This love did not stop with the end of his racing career. In 2014, he founded the Cyprus Historic & Classic Motor Museum in Limassol, opening his personal collection to the public. The space has become a reference point for the preservation and promotion of the history of motoring on the island, a project that will outlive him.
That same year, he also put his signature on a completely different moment. He embodied the king of the Limassol carnival , wearing the mantle of “Mnemonios the Great”, in one of the most characteristic appearances of his public presence.
The news caused deep emotion in Cyprus. Not only because a well-known personality had passed away, but also because of the circumstances. A summer afternoon, on a sea he knew well, with his own people by his side.
