Cyprus's government spokesman says the country's defense minister and the head of the National Guard have resigned over a deadly explosion at a naval base that killed 12 people and injured more than 60. Monday's explosion at the National Guard's Evangelos Florakis Naval Base on the Mediterranean island's southern coast occurred when a brush fire set off containers of gunpowder that had been confiscated from a ship two years
ago. Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said Defense Minister Costas Papacostas resigned, as did the National Guard Chief, Petros Tsalikides. He said investigators have ruled out sabotage. The blast -- described as a disaster of "biblical proportions" -- has also knocked out the island's largest electricity station, causing widespread power cuts.