NICOSIA: Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou said Monday he is resigning in the wake of a navy base munitions blast that claimed 13 lives and knocked out the island’s biggest power plant.

Kyprianou told reporters after giving evidence to parliament that he will ask President Demetris Christofias to accept his resignation “not because there is a sense of guilt, but for reasons of political sensitivity.”

Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou confirmed Kyprianou had discussed his intention to quit with Christofias by telephone.

Leaked documents in the media indicate that at least five ministers knew the 98 shipping containers of munitions, piled up in the blazing sun at the base near Limassol, could explode.

The government has said Christofias was never made aware of the risk.

Among those killed was the head of the Cyprus navy, Captain Andreas Ioannides, who was reported to have repeatedly denounced the situation. The blast also claimed six firemen and six other military personnel.

News of Kyprianou’s resignation came as Christofias was briefing party leaders about the investigation.

The key Vassiliko facility provided more than half the country’s electricity.

“This is the biggest crisis since 1974, both politically and economically,” said House speaker Yiannakis Omirou.

A crowd of around 200 people gathered outside parliament during Monday’s committee sessions to boo ministers attending the hearing and call on Christofias to resign.

Christofias on July 15 apologized elliptically for the explosion.

Since the blast, thousands have gathered nightly outside the presidential palace to call on him to resign following the island’s worst peacetime military disaster. Another large rally is set for Tuesday.

Lawyer Polis Polyviou, appointed to expedite an inquiry parallel to a police investigation, has said everyone involved will be interviewed, even the president.

Kyprianou said Monday he would cooperate fully.

“I like to believe that everyone is aware of the gravity of the situation and the need for accountability, I hope everyone will work together to identify and assign responsibilities based on actual facts and reality,” he said.

Both the defense minister and the head of the National Guard resigned within hours of the explosion at the Mari naval base.

Agriculture Minister Demetris Eliades has been appointed temporary defense minister. He and visiting Greek Defense Minister Panayiotis Beglitis visited the base Monday and met relatives of some of the victims.

The containers had been at the base since their seizure in February 2009 when Cyprus intercepted, under pressure from the United States and other Western nations, a Cypriot-flagged freighter bound from Iran for Syria.

Angry Cypriots have used social networking sites to organize the largest non-political rallies the island has ever experienced against what they perceive to be the result of government negligence.