Amsterdam, Netherlands ? Two Cabinet ministers resigned Thursday after accepting blame for safety lapses in a fire last year that killed 11 illegal immigrants awaiting deportation in an airport jail.

Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner and Housing Minister Sybilla Dekker told parliament they had submitted their resignations to Queen Beatrix. Their statements came two months before national elections.

Dekker acknowledged the casualty toll in the Oct. 27 fire was worsened by the haste with which the airport facility was built, at a time when the public was worried about rising crime.

The ministers addressed lawmakers hours after the blue-ribbon Safety Investigation Council released results of its investigation into the blaze, citing shortcomings at the airport detention area in preparing for disaster and dealing with the fire after it broke out.

The report said the government disregarded safety standards at the jail that contributed to the deaths of the illegal immigrants and suspected drug smugglers in the fire, apparently started by a prisoner.