- Wildfire ignited gunpowder on board ship seized en route to iran/syria in 2009
At least 10 people have been killed and numerous left injured after a massive explosion tore through a naval base in Cyprus today, the Defence Ministry said.
Officials said the blast is likely to have been caused after a brush fire ignited containers of gunpowder causing extensive damage to homes near the base.
Among those killed in the disaster were two navy sailors, two soldiers and five firefighters.
Catastrophe: Covered bodies lie at the scene while emergency personnel view the scene at military base in southern Cyprus
The explosion at Evangelos Florakis Naval Base on the Mediterranean island's southern coast happened at 6am this morning, and also severely damaged the island's primary power station.
Containers of gunpowder had been confiscated by the Cypriot authorities in 2009 from a ship sailing off its coast are thought to have ignited.
The ship, the Cypriot-flagged Monchegorak, had been suspected of heading from Iran to Syria, with gunpowder destined for Gaza.
Emergency: Personnel at the entrance of a military base in Cyprus where a large explosion knocked out the island's main power station
Power out: The damaged Mari power station _ the island's primary electricity generator
Video footage shown on state news channel CyBC showed damaged cars stranded along a major stretch of road near the base
A driver who was in one of the cars passing the base at the time of the explosion told CyBC that it felt like "a bomb had been dropped on the car".
National Guard Chief Petros Tsalikides, who was at the naval base, said the blast caused a 'great catastrophe'.
A spokesman for Cyprus Electricity Authority said the nearby Vasiliko power station - the island's primary electricity generator - suffered extensive damage as a result of the explosion's concussion wave.
He said the island's two other smaller power stations will try to cover electricity demand, but authorities are appealing to the public to reduce consumption as much as possible.
An investigation into the cause in under way.
Blast: A driver who was passing the base at the time of the explosion told CyBC that it felt like "a bomb had been dropped on the car"
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