At least 12 people were killed in huge blasts that rocked the main Greek Cypriot naval base at Zygi in the south of the Mediterranean island early yesterday, state media said. The official Cyprus news agency said five firefighters, four members of the Greek Cypriot National Guard and two sailors were killed, citing military sources. There was no immediate word on the identity of the 12th victim.
The state CNA news agency said the death toll might rise as an unverified number of people were still posted as missing at the blast site, which had been reduced to scorched earth.
A total of 59 people were -injured in the blast, the health ministry said. Three of those were undergoing emergency surgery for serious injuries.
Both CNA and public radio reported that Greek Cypriot National Guard commanders had expressed growing concern in recent weeks over the conditions of storage of the Iranian arms cache seized from a Cyprus-flagged ship headed for Syria in 2009.
The radio said that it was the worst peace-time military accident in the island’s history.
Witnesses told the radio of a scene of devastation in the adjacent fishing village whose seafront restaurants are popular with the many tourists who frequent the resort island.
Cars, houses and restaurants alike suffered massive damage from the force of the blasts, the witnesses said.
Cypriot Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides told the radio it was a “tragedy of Biblical dimensions.”
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