Atleast 12 people were killed and 60 injured on Monday after a depot containing seized Iranian arms exploded at Cyprus main naval base damaging the island’s biggest power station.
The 98 barrels containing an estimated 2,000 tonnes of high explosive had been stored for two years in the open, in temperature of up to 40 C, despite concerns of officers from the Cypriot National Guard.
Shockwaves could be heard 40 miles away in the capital, Nicosia. The country’s defence minister and military chief both resigned after the blast.
The Cypriot government ruled out sabotage as it announced that the commander of the Cypriot navy and the military base were among those killed in the explosion.
A view of the Vassilikos power station which was extensively damaged by a massive blast on Monday at a neighbouring military base in Cyprus July 12, 2011. The head of the Cypriot navy, a navy base commander and six firefighters were among 12 people killed early on Monday by a blast at a munitions dump which knocked out the island's biggest power station, police said.REUTERSA view of the Vassilikos power station which was extensively damaged by a massive blast on Monday at a neighbouring military base in Cyprus July 12, 2011. The head of the Cypriot navy, a navy base commander and six firefighters were among 12 people killed early on Monday by a blast at a munitions dump which knocked out the island's biggest power station, police said.REUTERSA view of the Vassilikos power station which was extensively damaged by a massive blast on Monday at a neighbouring military base in Cyprus July 12, 2011. The head of the Cypriot navy, a navy base commander and six firefighters were among 12 people killed early on Monday by a blast at a munitions dump which knocked out the island's biggest power station, police said.REUTERSA view of the Vassilikos power station which was extensively damaged by a massive blast on Monday at a neighbouring military base in Cyprus July 12, 2011. The head of the Cypriot navy, a navy base commander and six firefighters were among 12 people killed early on Monday by a blast at a munitions dump which knocked out the island's biggest power station, police said.REUTERSA woman lights a candle below a list of names of victims of a blast which occurred at the Evangelos Florakis navy base at Vassilikos in southern Cyprus July 11, 2011. The head of the Cypriot navy, a navy base commander and six firefighters were among 12 people killed early on Monday by a blast at a munitions dump which knocked out the island's biggest power station, police said. The blast almost levelled the nearby Vassilikos power plant, which produces nearly 60 percent of the island's energy, damaged buildings in nearby villages and rained metal on a motorway.REUTERSA view of damaged warehouses at the Vassilikos power station after a massive blast at a neighbouring military base in southern Cyprus July 11, 2011. A massive munitions blast at the Evangelos Florakis navy base in Cyprus killed at least eight people and injured dozens on Monday, shutting down Vassilikos, the island's largest power station, the official Cyprus News Agency said.REUTERS
