Nicosia : The head of Cyprus' navy, Andreas Ioannides, was among 12 people killed when seized containers of gunpowder exploded at its main base.
The commander of the Evangelos Florakis base, Lambros Lambrou, also died, reported BBC.
The defence minister and military chief have resigned over the incident, which officials said occurred after a bush fire ignited the explosives.
According to Reuters News agency, Cyprus had attempted several times to offload a dangerous cargo of confiscated Iranian munitions but was rebuffed by the United Nations, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Attempting to fend off mounting criticism over Cyprus's worst peace-time disaster, authorities said they had tried in vain to get rid of the 98 containers of munitions they confiscated in 2009 from a ship sailing from Iran to Syria.
The entire cargo exploded on Monday, destroying the island's largest power facility and prompting the resignation of the defence minister and army chief.
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