An explosion ripped through an Ecuadorean naval base today, shooting off munitions into nearby coastal slums and injuring at least 30 people,
officials said.

The blast tore through a naval base in the port city Guayaquil on Ecuador's Pacific coast at 1:45 a.m., a military official said. He said the cause of
the explosion was not immediately clear.

A navy spokesman said at least 30 people were injured in the blast, which showered bullets and caused some fires in nearby slums. Twelve people
suffered serious injuries, including first- and second-degree burns.

''The fire is now under control,'' a member of Guayaquil's fire department said. ''It was a very large fire, we felt four strong explosions. In many
homes the windows shattered.''

This is the second explosion at a military base in Ecuador in six months. Last November, an army munitions store exploded into a huge mushroom
cloud, killing eight people and destroying buildings in the highland city of Riobamba.