Ninety-eight containers of explosives self-detonate killing 13 people in Zygi, Cyprus.
Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosion
On 11 July 2011, at Evangelos Florakis Naval Base, situated at Mari, Larnaca District in Cyprus, a large amount of ammunition and military explosives self-detonated, killing 13 people, including the Commander of the Cyprus Navy, Andreas Ioannides, the base commander, Lambros Lambrou, and six firefighters. A further 62 people were injured. The explosion was the worst peacetime military accident ever recorded in Cyprus, with a yield of approximately 481 tons TNT equivalent, as determined by the official investigation into the accident. It was the largest artificial non-nuclear explosion of the 21st century until the 2020 Beirut explosions.
Zygi
Zygi is a small village on the south coast of Cyprus, between Limassol and Larnaca. Before 1974, Zygi had a mixed Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot population.
July 11
July 11 is the 192nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 173 days remain until the end of the year.