There is no evidence and there is no reason to believe that there is external interference in the fire at the factory in the village of Belitsa in Tryavna, announced the Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Demerdzhiev.
An ammunition warehouse has burned down - different in type and nature, specified the minister, quoted by bTV.
It is still unclear what caused the fire, there is no information that it started from a vehicle near the warehouse, Demerdzhiev also announced.
According to him, there does not need to be human error for an explosion to occur at an ammunition factory.
The director of the fire department, Chief. Commissioner Alexander Dzhartov announced that the fire has been brought under control on two fronts - eastern and western. There are enough teams on site - 6 from the fire department, 6 from the forestry department and one from trained volunteers from the municipality, Dzhartov specified.
„Expertise will establish the details of the explosions. There was a vehicle on site, but it has not yet been confirmed that the fire started from it. The ammunition stored in the vehicle is of different types and nature. The necessary measures have been taken to limit the dangerous perimeter, all workers have been taken out of the risk zone unharmed“, Demerdzhiev emphasized. He added that it is unlikely that it was a human error.
The last inspection of the plant was less than a month ago, "Nova TV" reported.
According to him, the terrain is also being monitored by drones, and the fire is under control. The Director of the GDPBZN, Chief Commissioner Alexander Dzhartov, reported that an abandoned building had burned down. No excesses in air standards were found. Firefighters are working on the outskirts of the village of Radoevi, there is no danger to the population. “The fire has been contained on the eastern and western fronts. 13 teams - firefighters, volunteers and forest officials - participated in the fire fight. There was no organized evacuation,“ summarized Dzhartov.
The Director of Separate Production of “EMKO“ in Tryavna Slavcho Dimiev added that the warehouse stores gunpowder charges and other ammunition, and there is no reason to claim that the incident was caused by an external impact. “The people who unloaded saw smoke in the warehouse, which is why an evacuation was initiated. Thanks to the quick response, no one was injured. When the gunpowder mixtures burn, smoke is released and the temperature rises. The ignition started from the inside out, the warehouse is used as an operational one“, he pointed out. And he suggested that perhaps it was precisely the ignition of such a thing that caused the fire that spread to the surrounding area.
According to him, there is no danger to the population from leaked toxic gases.
We recall that shortly before noon, explosions erupted at the “EMKO“ military plant in the village of Belitsa, Tryavna municipality. According to the Ministry of Interior, no one died or was injured in the incident. Due to the spread of the fire towards the village of Radoevi, the BG-ALERT system was activated and evacuation of people from the area began.
According to unofficial information, one of the workshops was completely destroyed. The mayor of Tryavna Dencho Minev reported that a truck initially caught fire, followed by explosions in some of the warehouses. Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev indicated that the incident occurred during the work process and, according to preliminary data, the cause was more likely internal.
Due to concerns about smoke and air pollution, local authorities urged residents to close their windows, not to go outside and, if necessary, to use protective masks.
„EMKO“, owned by businessman Emilian Gebrev, reported that the incident occurred at around 10:30 a.m. and according to the company, the cause was not human error. The company recalls similar cases in its warehouses in 2011, 2022 and 2023, as well as at other defense manufacturers, stating that their investigations have so far yielded no results.
Meanwhile, the Gabrovo District Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation. Eyewitnesses are already being questioned, and the area remains cordoned off. After it is secured, an inspection will be carried out, the documentation for the warehouse and the stored materials will be seized, and experts will be appointed to establish the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage.