The warehouse with high-tech products near Elin Pelin has been secured, caretaker Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov told journalists in the village of Gara Elin Pelin on Sunday. He said there could be no survivors of the blasts, which he said were still ongoing. Another body has been discovered.
The blasts continued on Saturday, when a special ops team was dispatched to the area. They came in with heavy equipment and looked for threats around the warehouse, which contains high-tech goods of the highest class, Stoyanov explained. The unit managed to secure the warehouse itself, its walls are extremely strong, all requirements have been met, the Minister specified. Only the front door, which has a roller shutter, has been compromised. An investigator or prosecutor is now expected on site, Stoyanov added.
The incident at the warehouses near Elin Pelin on Thursday evening seriously injured two people, a father and daughter, who later died. On Friday, it became clear that the incident also claimed the life of Assoc. Prof. Petar Shishkov, lecturer at the Mining and Geological University "St. Ivan Rilski".
He pointed out that a charred corpse had been found and would be taken away. One person remains unaccounted for, possibly in the demolished premises. Minister Stoyanov expressed deep condolences to the relatives of the deceased.
Two badly charred bodies were found later, which are presumed to be those of the two men who were known to have been in the warehouses when the incident occurred near Elin Pelin, the prosecutor's office told BTA. This brings the death toll to four people. Inspection of the scene will continue throughout the day.
Stoyanov also commented on the decision taken to evacuate part of the population. “When I arrived on the spot, I found out about material damage to their houses. People who know what is stored in the warehouse explained that if an explosion occurs there, it will be several times more powerful than all together before. Therefore, we took a right and adequate decision to evacuate the people,” the Interior Minister said.
/MT/
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