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206:. Authorities estimated around 10 tonnes of highly explosive chemicals were stored at the site, in addition to the weapons being dismantled. According to Nikola Nikolov, the head of the interior ministry's civil defense force, the blasts were powerful enough to completely destroy the main buildings in the plant, leaving huge craters the size of football fields behind and sending debris flying up to a kilometer away. The workers were reportedly dismantling old
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The same plant had received several urgent citations by authorities just two months prior to the accident, notifying the owners of outdated equipment, improperly stored explosives and a larger amount of munitions at the site than it could safely handle. The same plant suffered two blasts in 2007 and
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vehicle as a safety precaution. One of the members of that initial team, Valentin Radev, said that "the plant and the people seem to have just vanished" and described the scene as a "moonscape". October 3 was declared an official day of mourning in
Bulgaria, with festivities cancelled and all flags
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The main explosion took place at 16:59 pm local time, with a large secondary blast taking place at 21:45 pm. The approximately 15 people who were working inside the factory at the time of the first explosion are presumed to have died instantly, while 3 female workers in the vicinity of the complex
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In response to the disaster, authorities dispatched Army units equipped with drones and thermal cameras to search for survivors and assess the damage. After a period of 24 hours since the last explosion had passed, investigators were allowed access to the scene and began their work, making the
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2010 that injured a total of 6 people and flattened two separate buildings. In the aftermath of the disaster labor minister Yordan
Hristoskov vowed to never allow the factory to reopen, placing the future of around 150 jobs in question and prompting condemnation from local residents.
142:. The series of blasts completely destroyed the factory, killing 13 men and 2 women who were inside and injuring 3 others who were some distance away. As a result of the blast, October 3 was declared a day of
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were a series of explosions that began on the afternoon of
October 1, 2014, at 16:59 pm local time at the former Midzhur Ammo Plant in the village of
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This was
Bulgaria's tenth such accident since 1979 and the second one in just two months, after a blast at a similar plant in
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blamed the disaster on "arrogant non-observance of the recommendations and the established norms for handling explosives".
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killed 3 people in 2012, and in 2008 a series of huge blasts at an arms depot near Sofia injured 3, forced the closure of
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425:[Prosecutor's office has two versions about the explosion in Gorni Lom] (in Bulgarian). OffNews.bg. 2014-10-04
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mines at the time of the accident in Gorni Lom, approximately 145 km northwest of
Bulgaria's capital
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446:[Another ammunition explosion injures 10 people] (in Bulgarian). Sega newspaper. 2014-08-09
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alleged that
Russian agents had been in Bulgaria around the time of the explosion.
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injured 10 people on August 8. An explosion at another facility near
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348:"After Deadly Blast, Bulgaria Asks if Arms Disposal Is Worth It"
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The explosion took place just four days before the scheduled
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402:"Blasts kill 15 people at Bulgaria explosives plant"
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423:"Прокуратурата с две версии за взрива в Горни Лом"
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196:Location of the explosions in relation to Sofia
467:. Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty. 2021-04-22
376:"Bulgaria explosives factory blast kills 15"
444:"Пореден взрив на боеприпаси рани 10 души"
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68:Coordinates
485:Categories
471:2021-05-13
450:2014-10-03
429:2014-10-04
408:2014-10-03
382:2014-10-03
358:2014-10-03
328:References
106:Casualties
256:half-mast
254:flown at
223:Kostenets
185:Gorni Lom
132:Gorni Lom
119:3 injured
112:15 killed
81:22°45′0″E
78:43°29′0″N
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283:See also
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61:Bulgaria
45:Location
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