Dead and injured in blasts at Cyprus naval base

Huge blasts rocked the main Greek Cypriot naval base at Zygi in the south of the Mediterranean island early on Monday leaving dead and injured, a defence ministry spokeswoman said. "There is a number of dead and a number of injured but we can't say how many at this time," Aliki Stylinaou told public radio. "This is a difficult situation and there will be a full public briefing," she added. There was no immediate word on the cause of the blast. "There were 98 containers of gunpowder. Two of them (caught) fire and huge explosions occurred," a police spokesman told the state CNA news agency. The spokesman said that the blasts, which struck shortly before 6 am (0300 GMT), were the probable cause of widespread power cuts that hit the island early on Monday. State television said that the blasts caused extensive damage to nearby property and sparked wildfires in adjacent scrubland in the tinder-dry summer conditions. A power unit was also ablaze, the television added. There were also reports of extensive disruption to traffic in the Monday morning rush hour.