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Houses and the popular tourist restaurants and bars at Zygi and the nearby fishing village of Mari had windows and roofs blown in. All 150 residents of Mari were evacuated.

Destroyed and damaged cars lined the main coastal road. The commerce minister, Antonis Paschalides, described it as a "tragedy of Biblical dimensions".

A witness who was driving near the base at the time said it felt "like a bomb had dropped".

The explosion killed two sailors, four soldiers from the National Guard and five firemen. A government spokesman ruled out sabotage.

British officials were also investigating why an offer to help dispose of the explosives, made shortly after their seizure in January 2009, was not taken up.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The UK was among a number of countries that offered to assist the Republic in disposal of the Monchegorsk cargo. In a similar spirit we have also offered to provide assistance to the Republic in dealing with this tragic incident. UK military explosives experts visited the site this evening to put their expertise at the disposal of the authorities."

Caroline Flint, then minister for Europe, said Britain and other nations stood ready to help "in whatever way we can".

The arms were seized when local authorities, under pressure from the United States, impounded a Cypriot-flagged, Russian-owned ship, MV Monchegorsk, which had been hired by a state-owned Iranian shipping line to deliver a shipment to Latakia in Syria.

It had been noticed by the US navy shortly after leaving the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, and searched in the Red Sea by US warships. On board were 3,300 pallets containing high explosive, bullet casings and primers. The US and Israel believed they were supplies for Hamas, the militant group in control of Gaza which is close to both Syria and Iran.

The shipment was seen to be in violation of 2007 UN sanctions banning the export of weapons from Iran Britain has about 3,500 military personnel based in Cyprus, most at the RAF Akrotiri air base about 25 miles away from Zygi and at Dhekelia in the east of the island. There were no initial reports of British casualties.

The two bases are legally British sovereign territory under terms agreed when Cyprus won its independence in the 50s, and are a source of resentment to some islanders and leftist political groups.