A fire at a Libyan naval academy near the capital Tripoli killed two senior officers and a civilian, the health ministry said Wednesday, without identifying the root cause of the blaze.

Health ministry spokesman Amine al-Hachemi said on Twitter that "the blaze at the Naval Academy in Sayyad, west of Tripoli," killed General Ahmad Ayoub and General Salem Abu Salah, both commanders at the facility.

The fire broke out late Tuesday night and also killed "one civilian and hurt five others, all of them residents of a camp for the displaced located within the academy grounds", Hachemi added.

Local media said the fire broke out in a warehouse for clothes and blankets before spreading to a munitions depot, causing an explosion.

The UN-recognised Government of National Accord issued a statement announcing unspecified measures in response to the incident.

Neither Hachemi nor the GNA statement identified the initial cause of the blaze.

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