Powerful explosions at ammunition dump rock Sofia, nearby villages

03/07/2008

A series of powerful explosions at a munitions dump near Sofia rocked the Bulgarian capital Thursday morning, causing no fatalities but wreaking material damage and considerable local panic.

(AFP, AP, Reuters, DPA, The Sofia Echo, SNA, Dnevnik, Mediapool - 03/07/08)

Sofia residents awoke to a series of explosions Thursday (July 3rd). [File]

Three people suffered minor injuries as a series of explosions at a military storage facility about 10km east of Sofia rocked the Bulgarian capital Thursday (July 3rd) morning. The blasts, which continued for hours, damaged houses in the nearby villages of Chelopechene, Kazichene and Chepintsi and panicked residents.

"This morning at 6:30am (0330 GMT), a fire broke out in the area of Chelopechene and explosions followed," the ministry of emergencies announced.

Bulgarian Army Chief of Staff General Zlatan Stoykov assured Sofia's residents there was no risk of chemical or radioactive contamination.

"The shells in questions are conventional army shells, and there is no chemical element involved, just gunpowder," he said about an hour after the first explosion. "I don't know the cause yet."

Defence officials later said the dump contained 1,500 tonnes of various munitions. They warned that, given the quantity of ordnance, the detonations would likely continue throughout the day.

The greatest threat for the citizens of Sofia has already dissipated, as 20 tonnes of TNT at risk did not explode, the Sofia News Agency (SNA) later quoted Defence Minister Nikolay Tsonev as saying.

People near the site said they saw a mushroom cloud after the first blast. Many in Sofia mistook the tremors for an earthquake. One shell fragment landed near the Sofia International Airport, prompting authorities to redirect incoming flights to Plovdiv.

People from the three nearby villages complained of blast damage to their homes. Repercussions spread as far west as Sofia, shattering windows in some of the capital's easternmost districts.

"It was terrible, pieces of doors, windows and everything was all around me," a resident of Chepintsi told private broadcaster Nova TV.

Firefighters rushed to the area, which police immediately closed off. Sofia Mayor Boyko Borisov said buses would evacuate residents of the affected areas. He urged them to stay at home with their windows closed.

The ministry of emergency situations decided later to evacuate everyone in a 6km perimeter around the munitions dump.

The continuing explosions made the site inaccessible to rescuers, who would wait at least one day after the last blast, officials said.

Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev called an emergency cabinet meeting. But since no authorities, except for the Sofia mayor, issued a statement for more than an hour after the first major explosion, right-wing opposition parties called for Emergency Situations Minister Emel Etem's immediate resignation. They also insisted on a special parliamentary inquiry.

"Once again in a time of crisis, the Bulgarian government abandoned its duties," the Union of Democratic Forces complained.