+

Top defense officials resign after Cyprus blast

Source: B92, Tanjug

NICOSIA -- 12 people died this morning in a huge explosion in a military base in southern Cyprus, news agencies are reporting from the Mediterranean island.

Rescuers gather at the entrance to the base (Beta/AP)

A government spokesperson announced on Monday that the country's defense minister and army chief had resigned.
Reuters news agency quoted spokesman Costas Gavrielides as saying: "We can't assess the extent of the damage, but it's a biblical disaster."

Military sources said previously that dozens of others were injured at the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base, located between the towns of Limassol and Larnaca.

Reports said that the explosion was likely caused when 98 containers of gunpowder caught fire.

The containers were seized in 2009 from a ship headed from Syria to Iran.

The Cypriot state television said that the blast caused widespread damage and fires in the area, and also caused disruption in electrical power supply to much of the country.