Widespread destruction hampers Caldari Prime relief effort

LUMINARE – Caldari Prime continues to burn this evening, after the Gallente Federation launched its largest military offensive since the end of the Gallente-Caldari war in YC12.

Rescue operations in Arcurio are still underway after wreckage from the destroyed Leviathan-class titan Shiigeru passed overhead on entry, causing a concussion wave strong enough to topple a number of high-rise buildings and cause widespread damage to a large area of the city's south side.

Destroyed by a combined task force of 4 Nyx-class supercarriers, 25 Moros-class dreadnoughts, 11 Thanatos-class carriers and an uncountable number of capsuleers, the Shiigeru battled in low orbit of Caldari Prime for just over an hour before she finally began to break up at 18:01 Eve Standard Time.

The majority of her wreckage was destroyed in low orbit, along with a support fleet from the Caldari Navy’s 37th ‘Octopus’ Squadron consisting of 4 Wyvern-class supercarriers, 5 Phoenix-class dreadnoughts and a wing of 11 Chimera-class carriers, before a section of her forward superstructure almost 7 kilometers long broke away and plummeted into the atmosphere of Caldari Prime.

The remains of the vessel reportedly began to break up on entry, vaporizing clouds and showering its entry path with burning debris. The wreckage passed over Arcurio, before impacting in the far south of the Kaalakiota peaks, approximately 700 kilometers west of the city.

After contact with the surface of the planet was reestablished at approximately 11:00 Eve Standard Time this morning, reports of widespread devastation began to emerge with many independent capsuleers mounting their own rescue operations in defiance of orders from the Federation Navy and Directive Enforcement Department to keep clear.

The Provist occupation force currently maintains control of the planet, although fierce fighting is widespread in a number of strategically important locations as they fight to repel Gallente forces.

It has also been reported that a number of rescue teams from both the Gallente and Caldari armed forces have been dispatched to the Shiigeru’s crash site. It would appear, however, that they have been unable to begin any form of recovery operation due to intense heat and impassable terrain.

The wreckage is reportedly spread over an area of some 2 million square kilometers, and initial footage received from unmanned surveillance drones and MTACs dispatched by the Gallente military shows much of this area burning and littered with craters and debris. Several details about the area remain unclear due to an impenetrable blanket of atmospheric dust and ash that restricts orbital reconnaissance.

As the Gallente armed forces begin to set up atmospheric scrubbers to clean the debris from the atmosphere, the Servant Sisters of EVE, along with Combined Harvest and Caldari Provisions have already begun to appeal for relief donations.

Reports are also beginning to circulate that the Ishukone Corporation has made contact with the Gallente Senate in a diplomatic effort to gain access to Caldari Prime to assist with the relief operation.