Bulgaria investigates fire and explosions at EMCO ammunition site as possible sabotage
Bulgaria is investigating an overnight fire at an ammunition storage facility run by private defence company EMCO near the central village of Gorni Varpishta. The blaze was followed by a series of explosions, but no one was injured. Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said authorities are not ruling out outside interference.
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EMCO said the fire at the site, about 170km east of the capital Sofia, was sabotage and that human error was completely ruled out. The company said the storage facility had not been used for months and had been inspected 20 days earlier, when it said full compliance with regulations was confirmed. It did not identify any suspect or say who might be responsible.
The incident comes after last month's fire and blasts at another EMCO ammunition warehouse in the same area. EMCO said the latest case was part of a pattern of similar incidents at Bulgarian defence firms since 2011, which it described as acts of sabotage against the country's defence industry. The company is run by arms dealer Emilian Gebrev, whom Bulgarian prosecutors have said was previously targeted by Russian agents.
The case has wider significance because Bulgaria remains an important supplier of weapons to Ukraine as it continues to resist Russia's full-scale invasion. Although Sofia has recently halted state-owned arms supplies to Ukraine, private Bulgarian defence companies continue such transfers. EMCO said Bulgaria, as the EU and Nato member state most severely affected by such actions, should join collective efforts to prevent and neutralise the attacks.
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The company also pointed to the 2015 poisoning attempt on Gebrev, his son and another employee, after which three Russian nationals were charged in absentia with attempted murder. That history has added to scrutiny of unexplained incidents affecting defence-related sites in Bulgaria. Similar suspicious fires and sabotage allegations have been reported elsewhere in Europe, although responsibility is often disputed and not always established.
What remains unclear is the cause of the fire and explosions, and whether the incident was deliberate. Authorities have said they are still examining the case, and EMCO has not named any individual or group it believes may be responsible. The next developments are likely to depend on the outcome of the investigation and any further official attribution.
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