It is believed that at least 15 people (thirteen men and two women) have lost their lives in the devastating explosion which took place north of the Bulgarian capital in an explosives factory. Rescue workers were not able to enter the site until Thursday, because there were still risks of of secondary explosions. However, during Wednesday night, interior ministry officials visited the area. Their conclusion was that there is no sign of anyone still alive. The explosion took place at around 17:00 p.m. on Wednesday and a second explosion was reported at 21:45.
During the explosion, stockpiles of ammunition, belonging to the Bulgarian army were destroyed. There are sources saying that there were some explosives from Greece involved, as well. The factory was located 75 miles north of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. Three female employees who happened to be near the factory at the time of the explosion were injured and rushed to the hospital. What might have caused the explosion is still unknown. There are however reports saying that 10 tons of highly explosive chemicals had been stored inside the factory. Nikolay Nikolov, civil defense force director declared: “The blast was so powerful that it left craters”. He also added that the most likely cause of the explosion is human error.
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The government is preparing a team to be sent in the area where the explosion took place. The team will be highly equipped; it will enter the explosion site with an armored auto vehicle. Also, drones are going to be sent to fly over the area, in order to survey and provide more information. It might be a difficult mission, since the factory was practically reduced to ashes. These explosions are not the first one to take place in the area. Back in 2007 and 2010, there were other two similar explosions. During both of them, people got severely injured. In the 2010 explosion, two of the plant’s units were completely brought to the ground by the blast.
Bulgaria declared Friday a national mourning day for the country and since elections were being held on Sunday, one of the candidates even decided to mute his campaign as a sign of respect and mourning for those who had lost their lives in the explosion.