Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosion The Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosion was the worst peacetime military accident ever recorded in Cyprus . The incident occurred on 11 July 2011 , when 98 containers of explosives that had been stored for 2½ years in the sun on the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base near Zygi self - detonated . The resulting explosion killed 13 people , 12 of them immediately , including Captain Andreas Ioannides , the Commander of the Navy ( Cyprus ' s most senior naval officer ) , and the base commander , Lambros Lambrou . Also killed were four navy personnel and six firefighters , while a further 62 people were injured . The explosion severely damaged hundreds of nearby buildings including all of the buildings in Zygi and the island ' s largest power station , responsible for supplying over half of Cyprus ' electricity . As a result , much of Cyprus was without power in the immediate aftermath of the incident and rolling blackouts were initiated in order to conserve supplies . According to a list of the largest artificial non - nuclear explosions , the explosion was the 4th largest accidental explosion and 7th largest overall . As a result of the incident , the Cypriot Defence Minister and the Commander - in - Chief of the Cypriot National Guard both resigned . Angered by the government ' s failure to dispose of the munitions , which had been seized in 2009 , several thousand citizens staged demonstrations in the capital Nicosia and other cities , every day in the week following the accident . The EU prognosticated that the cost of the explosion could be just over 10 % of the country ' s economy . Background . The Evangelos Florakis Navy Base is a Cyprus Navy base , situated near Zygi , between Limassol and Larnaca . In open storage on the base were 98 containers of 120 mm , 122 mm , 125 mm , and 160 mm high explosive artillery shells , 7 . 62 mm shell casings , compressed gunpowder , silver dollar - sized slugs , primer , and magnesium primers that had been seized by the United States Navy in 2009 after it intercepted a Cypriot - flagged , Russian owned vessel , " Monchegorsk " , travelling from Iran to Syria in the Red Sea . According to leaked US cables through WikiLeaks , released in 2011 , the US through Hillary Clinton exerted pressure on Cyprus to confiscate the shipment . The ship was escorted to a Cypriot port and the Cyprus Navy was given responsibility for the explosives , which it moved to the Evangelos Florakis a month later . At the time of the incident in 2011 , the explosives had apparently been left in the open for over two years . The Cypriot government had declined offers from Germany , the United Kingdom and the United States to remove or dispose of the material , having feared an adverse reaction from Syria . The government had instead requested that the UN effect the removal , but claimed that its request had been rejected . Explosion . The explosion occurred at 05 : 50 EEST ( 02 : 50 UTC ) following a fire caused by explosions of several containers starting one hour and 20 minutes earlier . Extensive damage was caused in a wide area surrounding the blast . The Vasilikos Power Station , the largest power facility on Cyprus , which provided approximately half the island ' s electricity , was severely damaged , causing widespread power cuts which affected much of Nicosia , the Cypriot capital , over 40 miles ( 65 km ) from the Evangelos Florakis base . The blast killed 12 people on the spot and injured a further 62 , of whom two were injured seriously with one dying later increasing the number of dead to 13 . Among those killed were Captain Andreas Ioannides , the Commander of the Navy ( the head of the Cyprus Navy ) and Commander Lambros Lambrou , 45 , the commander of the Evangelos Florakis base . Also killed were four other Cyprus Navy personnel and six civilian firefighters who had been tackling the small blaze that led to the explosion . Immediate aftermath . As a result of the damage to the power station , the electricity supply to approximately half of Cyprus was interrupted . The Electricity Authority of Cyprus later instituted rolling blackouts in order to conserve the supply and stated that it would import generators from Greece and Israel while the damage , estimated at €2 billion , was being repaired . The rolling blackouts lasted for two to three hours in each area and were planned to affect only residential areas . The electricity authority stated that " airports , hospitals , tourist areas and industrial estates will not be affected from the power cuts in an effort not to cause problems for our economy " . The economic damage of the disaster has yet to be officially assessed by the Government , but of the 700 million euro facility , only a " mangled shell remained . " The station ' s installed capacity was 47 % of EAC ' s total and would have soon increased to 55 % with the delivery of Unit 5 . A private deal was signed on 16 July for the supply of up to 80MW from Northern Cyprus until the end of August . Funerals were held for the majority of the dead , including Ioannides , on 13 July . Some time after the explosion , speculation emerged that some of the substances in the containers may have been toxic . There were concerns for the health of those who were in the vicinity of the explosion , but the Cypriot Health Minister announced on 20 July that no public health risk had been detected , but residents would be kept under observation as a " precautionary measure " . Political repercussions . The Cypriot Defence Minister , Costas Papacostas , and the National Guard Commander - in - Chief , General Petros Tsalikidis , both resigned from their offices as a result of the incident . The government announced that an independent inquiry into the incident would be held and Cyprus Police announced that it would launch a criminal investigation . The explosion destroyed several houses and over 250 others suffered lesser damage , displacing approximately 150 people . Several thousand people upset by the Cypriot government ' s failure to dispose of the explosives held a demonstration in the capital Nicosia on 12 July . A group of about fifty broke away from the demonstration and stormed the grounds of the Presidential Palace , demanding the resignation of Dimitris Christofias , President of Cyprus . The breakaway group was almost immediately apprehended by the Cyprus Police , who nonetheless used tear gas ten minutes after the incident had begun in an attempt to disperse the crowds . The protests continued into 13 July and 20 people were arrested during the disorder . On 19 July , Markos Kyprianou , the Cypriot Foreign Minister , resigned , becoming the second cabinet minister to resign over the explosion . On 3 October , Polys Polyviou , the independent state - appointed investigator charged to look into potential responsibility by state and other officials leading to the July 11 blast , released a 643 - page document detailing his findings of the investigation , concluding that Cypriot president Dimitris Christofias is mainly to blame for the events that led to the explosion . According to the investigation , the president has institutional and very serious personal responsibility for the disaster . The investigator said that the attorney - general should look into the possibility of serious crimes — including manslaughter — being committed by all involved , without exception . The president Dimitris Christofias rejected the results of the investigation , denying any personal responsibility and accusing Mr . Polyviou of exceeding his mandate . Economic repercussions . Of Cyprus ' US $ 24 . 66bn economy , the EU estimates that the cost of explosion to the island could amount to US $ 2 . 83bn , with cost of the power plant itself coming to US $ 992m . This was weeks before the Bank of Cyprus and other business leaders said " deep spending cuts are needed fast . "