No 'Dangerous Substances' in Blasted Bulgarian Ammo Depot - Corporate Owner

A photo by BGNES shows the explosion at a privately-owned ammunition depot near the Petolachkata road junction close to Sliven in Southeastern Bulgaria that occurred Tuesday afternoon.

The private ammunition depot that exploded near the city of Sliven in Southeastern Bulgaria Tuesday afternoon contains "no dangerous substances", according to the firm that owns it.

The blasts at the ammo site near the Petolachkata road junction close to Sliven occurred at 2:40 pm on Tuesday, injuring at least 7 people, two of them critically.

Initial reports said the blasts came from a military base near the city of Yambol nearby but the Bulgarian Defense Ministry denied this information. The site was revealed to be the property of a Sofia-based firm, Bereta Trading, which uses it to dismantle munitions – including shells from the Chelopechene military depot near Sofia that exploded in July 2008.

"What matters and should be known is that the sites did not contain any dangerous substances – either chemical, or biological," explained Desilslav Delev, owner of the Bereta Trading firm, speaking on the Bulgarian National Radio.

He added that the first blast occurred at Facility 1 of the depot, leading the staff to immediately vacate the premises.

In his words, the local police and fire brigade units reacted very quickly, and sealed off the area within a 3-km radius.

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