site.btaSome 15 People Unaccounted for After Explosives Factory Blows Up on Wednesday

Some 15 People Unaccounted for
After Explosives Factory
Blows Up on Wednesday


Vidin, on the Danube, October 2 (BTA) - The number of workers
who were in the vicinity of an explosion in a specialized
facility near the village of Gorni Lom (northwest Bulgaria) is
still unknown. The blast occurred around 5 pm on Wednesday. The
factory is private and manufactures explosives for civil
purposes using old ammunition.

According to preliminary information, 15 people are thought to
have been on site. They cannot be reached and their fate is
unknown because the place is inaccessible and sealed off due to
possible new explosions. Three women were confirmed to have been
injured by the explosion.


Police have sealed off the area around the factory and
established a security parameter. Technical devices are being
used to conduct surveillance of the area, the Interior Ministry
said Thursday. For safety reasons, rescue teams will be able to
enter the place no sooner than 24 hours after the last explosion
is registered.

The Bulgarian Red Cross has provided three psychologists, who
are currently on site. The Interior Ministry's efforts are
focused on gathering credible information about the number of
workers who were near the explosion, the press release says.

Interior Minister Yordan Bakalov arrived at the blast site on
Wednesday evening, his Ministry reported. Bakalov, Interior
Ministry Chief Secretary Svetlozar Lazarov and head of the Chief
Directorate Fire Safety and Civil Protection Nikolay Nikolov
are part of a special crisis task force, currently functioning
on site.

Servicemen from the Bulgarian armed forces with specialized
equipment, dispatched to provide assistance in the area around
the explosion, are already on the spot, the Defence Ministry
said Thursday. The equipment includes an unmanned aerial vehicle
and a robot conducting surveillance and defusing unexploded
ammunition.

According to preliminary data, there is no risk for the
residents of Gorni Lom. Investigators of the National
Investigation Service have been sent to the site at the order of
the Prosecutor General, the Interior Ministry said earlier.

The explosion cut off the electricity supply in the region, CEZ
Bulgaria said, adding that its teams have restored the supply to
all clients except to two hydroelectric power plants and the
factory where the explosion occurred. PK/MY