The fire at the military plant "EMKO" near Tryavna is under control, there are no active outbreaks and there is currently no danger to the population. This was announced in "The Day Begins" on BNT by representatives of the local authorities. Air checks are being carried out, and the investigating authorities are about to enter the site and establish the causes of the explosion and the subsequent fire.
The explosion occurred yesterday minutes before 11 am in a warehouse where ammunition was stored. Several secondary explosions followed, and the fire spread over a large area in the direction of the Balkan Mountains towards the village of Stanchovkhan.
Deputy Regional Governor of Gabrovo Andrey Nikolov said that the night passed peacefully and the fire has already been brought under control.
„The night passed relatively peacefully. During the night, fire safety teams were on duty in the field, and there are no longer any active outbreaks of fire. Later, Chief Commissioner Dzhartov will provide more details about the fires. But overall, the situation has already been brought under control and we have no reason to worry“, Nikolov explained.
Due to the situation, the BG-ALERT system was activated yesterday, but there was no mass evacuation of the population.
The competent institutions are yet to take procedural and investigative actions. The District Prosecutor's Office in Gabrovo has already initiated pre-trial proceedings in the case.
As for the air, no deviations from the norms have been reported at the moment. Mobile stations of the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water have carried out measurements in Tryavna and Plachkovtsi.
The Mayor of Tryavna Dencho Minev indicated that some of the residents were worried, but there is no evidence of dangerous pollution.
„There was concern among some of our fellow citizens, which was rather expressed in the Plachkovtsi City Hall. Inspections were carried out by the fire department, and the air purity did not measure any deviations from the norms. But to be sure, we also contacted the Regional Inspectorate for Environment, Water and Fire Protection, who sent a team to the site and today there will be accurate data.“
The mobile stations have carried out measurements in both Tryavna and Plachkovtsi, and are currently in Plachkovtsi.
The mayor thanked the firefighters, police officers and employees of the plant for their reaction after the explosion. According to him, the most important thing is that no one was injured.
Minev added that there was no danger to nearby settlements and tourism in the area.
“There was no mass gathering, since it is no coincidence that the plant is 10 km from the city, there is no danger. So there is no danger to tourism, since it must have strong tourism, it is currently in full swing. Also, this thing, there are no worries, the situation is completely calm.“
Yesterday, during the explosion, there were about 260 people on the territory of the plant. According to initial information, the fire broke out in an ammunition warehouse, and a vehicle used in loading and unloading activities was indicated as a possible cause.
The mayor emphasized the importance of the enterprise for the local economy and again emphasized that there were no injuries.
„It is not only for Tryavna and for Bulgaria, but also for Tryavna. Regarding the manner of occurrence, procedural and investigative actions are currently being carried out. The competent authorities, once they have information, will provide accurate information about the causes and consequences. But I say again, the heroes are workers in this case, yes, this is key for the local economy. These are 300 of our citizens who were on the territory of the site, as you said in numbers. What is important for me, as mayor, is that they are alive and well. And in this situation they have maintained their composure, which is the most important thing.“
Yesterday, Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev stated that at the moment there is no evidence of external interference. Investigators are about to inspect the site to establish the causes of the fire. The manager of the military plant “EMKO“ Slavcho Dimiev rejected the version that the fire started from the vehicle located next to the warehouse.
“Let's say that the warehouse was completely destroyed. The warehouse was actually destroyed. I just said the obvious question, is there a possibility that the vehicle located next to the warehouse started the fire. No! There is no such possibility, for the simple reason that the vehicle was a cargo truck that transported production from a premises to a storage warehouse. About 10 minutes before the incident, production was unloaded at the warehouse and the vehicle was prepared to go to another warehouse.“
According to him, the workers who carried out the loading and unloading activities saw that the ignition started from the inside out.
„From what our workers who were currently servicing this unloading activity saw, a fire started from the inside out in the warehouse. The cause of this fire has yet to be clarified. We really hope that a clear cause will be established in order to prevent similar things from happening in the future.“
Dimiev did not rule out the possibility of human error, but stressed that at this stage no definitive conclusion can be drawn.
„Human error is always possible, but I can hardly at the moment or anyone else today provide clarity on the issue, because it is yet to come, after a certain period of time, for people to be allowed to the warehouse, for inspections to be made, for expert reports to be made, which could bring a little more clarity. I have always said it in such difficult situations that we are the ones most interested in finding out what the truth is, so that such cases are not allowed in the future.“
The explosion and fire caused serious damage to the warehouse, but the production premises were not damaged. Dimiev stated that production activities will be restored after clarifying the causes and carrying out the necessary inspections.
„After clarifying the causes or after a detailed inspection of the area, production activities will, of course, always be restored. Every warehouse contains materials, finished products, which are necessary for production. Yes, this accident that occurred is a very serious damage for us. It will certainly be overcome. The production premises were not damaged. And the important thing is that no people were injured. In principle, for us the most important thing is people, everything else can be procured.“