In Bulgaria, an explosion has occurred at a second EMCO ammunition depot within a month
In Bulgaria, an explosion occurred at a second ammunition depot belonging to EMCO within a month
An explosion and fire occurred at ammunition depots in the Gabrovo Province of Bulgaria. The incident took place on the evening of September 11 near the village of Gorni Varpishta, between Tryavna and Tsareva Livada.
According to the Bulgarian TV channel NOVA, initial reports were received between 23:04 and 23:10, shortly after which a call was made to the 112 service.
There are a total of 11 warehouses on the territory of the facility. The fire first started in one of them and then spread to two other nearby warehouses. Several explosions were heard in the area.
The governor of the Gabrovo Province, Kristina Sidorova, said that gunpowder and ammunition might have been stored in the warehouses. The last explosion was recorded close to midnight.
There were no people in the warehouses at the time of the incident. Two guards who were on the territory managed to get to a safe place in time. There are no casualties or injuries.
"Three fire brigades are monitoring the situation. Due to the danger of ongoing explosions, rescuers have not approached the warehouses; the spread of the fire is being monitored using drones," the report says.
The scene has been completely cordoned off, and the BG-Alert system has been activated to warn the population. The nearest settlement is located more than one kilometer away from the facility.
In August, an explosion and fire also occurred at another ammunition depot belonging to EMCO. No casualties were reported at that time either.
The investigation into the explosion is also ongoing. The Gabrovo Prosecutor's Office has ordered several expert examinations, and 11 witnesses have been questioned. The State Agency for National Security of Bulgaria — DANS and the police have been instructed to conduct additional operational-search measures. Investigators have not yet ruled out any possible cause of the incident.
During the cleanup operations carried out after the previous incident, the military found 60 unexploded munitions of various calibers. Two of them were destroyed on site, and nearly two tons of metal fragments were also collected. The cleanup of the area was completed on September 8.