A massive explosion ripped through a military base in southern Cyprus, witnesses said on Monday, with the official news agency reporting at least ten people dead.

Police and army officials were not in a position to immediately confirm the report, and information was scant from the scene of the blast at the Evangelos Florakis navy base.

“There are a number of dead which we cannot confirm yet,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said.

The Cyprus News Agency (CNA) said dozens of people have been injured at the Evangelos Florakis base in Zygi, between the southern coastal cities of Limassol and Larnaca.

At least 12 people were killed in huge blasts which rocked the main Greek Cypriot naval base at Zygi in the south of the Mediterranean island early on Monday, state television said.

Public radio said at least 30 people were also injured in the explosions which it said struck among weapons seized from an Iranian shipment aboard a Cypriot-flagged vessel in 2009.

The radio said that the fire brigade were called to a blaze near the base at 4:24 am (0124 GMT) and that the explosions followed at 5:50 am (0250 GMT).

Wildfires are a frequent problem in Cyprus in the tinder-dry conditions created by the searing summer heat.

It was unclear what triggered the explosion, which news reports said was in a munitions dump.

The military base had munitions in storage which Cyprus had confiscated from the Monchegorsk, a vessel sailing from Iran to Syria in 2009.

The intensity of the blast caused extensive damage to a neighbouring community, and in a popular resort 3 km from the site windows and doors of beachside restaurants were blown out.

It is believed the blast occurred in the early hours of this morning in an area where munitions seized from a vessel heading to Syria from Iran in 2009 had been dumped.

The intensity of the blast caused damage to neighbouring communities and windows and doors of beachside restaurants were blown out.

Fire damage to the power station has meant the majority of the south of the island has no power including the British military bases of RAF Akrotiri, Episkopi, Dhekelia and Ayios Nikolaos.

Fifty firefighters and 10 fire trucks are battling the blaze, said a fire official, who declined to be identified by name.

The Cyprus Power Authority, the island’s state-run electricity company, asked consumers to reduce power usage and not use air conditioners after the fire damaged the distribution network, according to an e-mailed statement.

The munitions that exploded may have come from the Russian- owned, Cypriot-flagged vessel Monchegorsk that was intercepted by Cyprus in 2009.