Cyprus: Zygi naval base munitions blast kills 12

[Manuel I Komnenos]

The BBC's Tabitha Morgan described the effects of the explosion

Twelve people have been killed and about 30 injured in a blast at a munitions dump in Cyprus.

The explosion at 0600 (0300 GMT) is thought to have been caused by brushfires which spread to the depot in the naval base at Zygi.

The island's largest power station has been knocked out, resulting in widespread power cuts.

The munitions depot contained explosives seized in 2009 from a ship travelling from Iran.

There is no indication that the cause of the blast was deliberate, says the BBC's Tabitha Morgan in Nicosia.

State radio said the dead included two sailors from the Cyprus navy, two soldiers and five firefighters.

continued

Power cuts Two containers of explosive stored in the munitions dump at the Evangelos Florakis naval base caught fire, a police spokesman told the semi-official CNA news agency. In all, there were 98 containers in the depot. They had been seized from a Cypriot-flagged ship, the Monchegorsk, which was intercepted travelling from Iran in January 2009. Cyprus said the shipment violated UN sanctions against Iran. The fire spread to the nearby Vassilikou power station, knocking out the electricity supply to many homes and businesses. The fire has also had a knock-on effect on the BBC's broadcasts to the eastern Mediterranean. Six of the eight transmitters in the BBC's relay station at Zygi are without power, interrupting direct English-language broadcasts to the Middle East. 'Total mess' The blast was "rather like a sonic boom", eyewitness Hermes Solomon told the BBC. He was staying in a caravan on a campsite not far from the base. "The doors crashed together, the glass blew in - windows, door frames, things left their shelves. It was a total mess inside, as though a bomb had hit the place." State television said the blasts caused extensive damage to property in the area and sparked wildfires in nearby scrubland in the tinder-dry summer conditions. President Dimitris Christofias, who visited the naval base after the blast, described the scene as "a catastrophe of biblical proportions", the Associated Press (AP) reported. "We were devastated by this event, not so much by the material damage, but by the loss of human lives and the injury of many of our compatriots," he said, according to AP. "It was huge. I fell out of bed and ran to check on the kids," nearby resident Eleni Toubi told Reuters. Alexandra Dimitriou, who was at nearby Governor's Beach at the time of the explosion, said all the hotels in the area had their glass blown out. "After the blast we walked up across the beach to make sure there were no casualties," she told the BBC. "There was a lot of panic there. Older folk thought the Turks were invading. "There was shattered glass everywhere. We got in the car and left to avoid getting stuck there and on our way back to Limassol we saw road signs which had been ripped off by the force of the explosion.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14102253

The Cypriot Minister of Defense and the General of the National Guard of Cyprus resigned shortly after the event. Cyprus has asked aid from Greece and the Greek Army has sent a C-27 with experienced personnel to examine the reasons that led to the explosion.

Our minds are with the families of the dead and injured Cypriots.

EDIT: Several Greek news sites mention that the dead are 17 and the injured over 60 but it remains to be seen what is the real number of casualties. The Minister of Internal Affairs of Cyprus has been asked whether this might have been caused by a sabotage and he answered that 'everything is possible and we have to examine what happened".

Greek Source:http://news.in.gr/greece/article/?aid=1231117241

80% of the major Cypriot naval base has been destroyed according to Cypriot high ranked officials.

[removeduser_487563287433]

Not political.

Edit: Just want to speak out against the sensationalism of Manuel's OP. BBC are reporting that there is no indication that this was deliberate, with the Cypriot Spokesman explicitly ruling out sabotage.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14102253

[Manuel I Komnenos]

Not political.

Edit: Just want to speak out against the sensationalism of Manuel's OP. BBC are reporting that there is no indication that this was deliberate, with the Cypriot Spokesman explicitly ruling out sabotage.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14102253

Uhm, this was from the Greek news site of which a reporter asked the Minister of Internal Affairs of Cyprus.

You know you linked the same source, don't you?

Manuel linked BBC too and it's there in the article that it doesn't seem like sabotage.

God, isn't it obvious that this part was stated from a Greek reporter and not BBC? How more obvious can it get? I even linked the Greek site.

[removeduser_487563287433]

Uhm, this was from the Greek news site of which a reporter asked the Minister of Internal Affairs of Cyprus.

Prepare to be disappointed, I don't like it when people make up.

"The spokesman, Stefanos Stefanou, said sabotage had been ruled out."

[Manuel I Komnenos]

Prepare to be disappointed, I don't like it when people make up.

"The spokesman, Stefanos Stefanou, said sabotage had been ruled out."

Ο υπουργός Εσωτερικών Νεοκλής Συλικιώτης δήλωσε ότι οι σοροί των νεκρών μεταφέρονται στο Γενικό Νοσοκομείο Λευκωσίας. Σε ερώτηση δημοσιογράφου εάν εξετάζεται το ενδεχόμενο κακόβουλης ενέργειας για τα αίτια της φονικής έκρηξης, ο κ. Συλικιώτης άφησε όλα τα ενδεχόμενα ανοικτά λέγοντας ότι ερευνώνται τα πάντα.

The minister of Internal Affairs "Neocles Silikiotes mentioned that the dead bodies are being transfered to the Hospital of Leucosia. In a question of a reporter, whether there are any evidences suggesting sabotage, Mr. Silikiotes said that everything is being examined, leaving all doors open.

Waiting for your official apology Ferrets54.

[alhoon]

You know you linked the same source, don't you?

Manuel linked BBC too and it's there in the article that it doesn't seem like sabotage, or better "There is no indication that the cause of the blast was deliberate" as the article says.

[alhoon]

"There is no indication that the cause of the blast was deliberate, says the BBC's Tabitha Morgan in Nicosia."

That's from BBC. The Cypriot minister didn't talk to BBC. I was just mentioning to Ferrets that he sourced the exact same article as you did.

Anyway: A lesson to Cypriot army: Don't store dangerous explosives taken from ships near power stations and also make sure your munitions depots are built better to avoid such tragedies. I don't know what went wrong, but it was a very deadly accident with a great cost in lives and infrastructure. Perhaps the Cypriots did everything right, but it's certain that even that wasn't enough. 12 people dead by BBC and perhaps as many as 17?!? 60 people wounded? A dark day for Cyprus.

[removeduser_487563287433]

"The spokesman, Stefanos Stefanou, said sabotage had been ruled out."

I'm guessing the explanation is the above statement is more recent than yours, Manuel, and the BBC bothers to update its articles.

[Manuel I Komnenos]

"The spokesman, Stefanos Stefanou, said sabotage had been ruled out."

I'm guessing the explanation is the above statement is more recent than yours, Manuel, and the BBC bothers to update its articles.

11 July 2011 Last updated at 12:37 GMT

11 Ιουλ. 2011, 15:17 (11 July 2011, 15:17)

[removeduser_487563287433]

11 July 2011 Last updated at 12:37 GMT

11 Ιουλ. 2011, 15:17 (11 July 2011, 15:17)

So it's two hours out of date, about an ongoing incident. The BBC article was updated two minutes ago.

Ha.

Ha.

Ha, Manuel.

[Manuel I Komnenos]

So it's two hours out of date, about an ongoing incident. The BBC article was updated two minutes ago.

Ha.

Ha.

Ha, Manuel.

What?

[Charontas]

More accurately he wants to present the most sensationalist version of a tragedy as possible. Indeed, why does he want to focus on the idea of sabotage? What ethnic group is he hoping to whip up a nonsense of hate against in this thread?

You can't really say with any certainty he's presenting a sensationalist version of this event. If I'm not mistaken, he did use the BBC as a source first, then also reportered the thoughts of the Greek media.

As I see it, Manuel just used multiple sources to show the different facets...

[saglam2000]

I don't understand why the minister and the general had to resign. They're hardly at fault.

[Manuel I Komnenos]

I don't understand why the minister and the general had to resign. They're hardly at fault.

It seems someone has to take the blame.

[Charontas]

It still doesn't mean Manuel "made up", Ferrets

[Manuel I Komnenos]

It still doesn't mean Manuel "made up", Ferrets

I've just posted two reliable sources, it's your call what you'll chose to believe.

[removeduser_487563287433]

I have explicitly focused on the topic and indeed have presented a more accurate commentary than you.

[Manuel I Komnenos]

I have explicitly focused on the topic and indeed have presented a more accurate commentary than you.

Uhm what? By posting the same source as I did?

[removeduser_487563287433]

Uhm what? By posting the same source as I did?

No, by reading it and relaying the contents to the forum, rather than sensationalising the already dismissed notion of sabotage.

[alhoon]

I didn't see Manuel focusing on the idea of Sabotage, he just mentioned that the Minister said they examine all possible causes.