Drone which crashed at RAF Akrotiri hit hangar, not runway, Downing Street confirms
The drone which crashed at RAF Akrotiri on Sunday night hit a hangar rather than the runway as originally claimed by the Foreign Secretary, Downing Street has said.
No injuries were reported and damage to the hangar was minimal, the Prime Minister's spokesperson told reporters after photos were circulated online appearing to show a large hole in the facade of the hangar at the RAF base in Cyprus.
Defence officials have assessed that the drone was a "Shahed-type UAV" but was not launched from Iran.
Yvette Cooper initially said the drone had crashed into the runway.
"When this happened on Sunday evening, we were clear that work needed to be done to assess the incident. The full assessment of that incident is ongoing," the Prime Minister's spokesperson told reporters.
"The drone parts have been recovered. They are being investigated."
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said: "A one-way attack drone hit the RAF Akrotiri base late on Sunday, 1 March. There were no casualties, and thorough assessments determine that the damage is minimal. There has been no damage to equipment inside the hangar.
"The safety of our personnel and their families is our absolute priority.
"Our RAF jets continue to fly defensive missions every day to protect our British bases, our people and our allies."
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