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| Europe | |
| Cyprus naval base blast kills 12, shuts down power plant | |
| 2011-07-12 | |
| NICOSIA: CyprusÂ’s defense minister and army chief resigned after munitions dump blast that killed 12 people on Monday, government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said. The commander of the Cypriot navy and the commander of a military base were among those killed, police said. The other victims were army officers and six firefighters. The explosion happened at a military base where confiscated Iranian munitions were being held.
The early morning explosions devastated the adjacent Vassiliko power station in what Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides called a “tragedy of Biblical dimensions” for the small Mediterranean island. The plant produces almost 60 percent of the country’s electricity supply. Massive damage was caused to homes in the nearby village of Mari, forcing the evacuation of its 150 residents, the village headman said. The Iranian armaments were in the cargo of the Monchegorksk, a ship Cyprus intercepted in 2009 sailing from Iran to Syria in violation of UN sanctions on Iran. Military sources said they believed all 98 containers of the Iranian arms, kept exposed in scorching temperatures, exploded. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 Read one article that said powder, primers, some shell casings (brass) for artillery. Not a good combination to leave cooking in the sun.... |
| Posted by: tipover 2011-07-12 01:30 |
| #1 98 containers of the Iranian arms 2,000 tons of gunpowder. |
| Posted by: Eohippus Phater7165 2011-07-12 01:18 |