Blast at Bulgaria's explosives factory kills many

At least 10 people are feared to have been killed in a blast that occurred in an explosives plant of northwestern Bulgaria, as per reports on Wednesday.

Sofia: At least 10 people are feared to have been killed in a blast that occurred in an explosives plant of northwestern Bulgaria, as per reports on Wednesday.

According to the Interior Minister, Yordan Bakalov, around 15 people were present in the plant near the village of Gorni Lom, in the Vidin region. Moreover, two factory owners were also there.

At least 10 people died in the explosion, according to public radio and the BGNES news agency.

The secretary general of the interior ministry, Svetlozar Lazarov, told local radio "to expect casualties" but did not give precise figures.

Rescue workers had not yet arrived at the scene, he added.

At least three employees were injured in the incident, according to the regional hospital of Montana, located some 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of the capital Sofia.

The privately-owned plant carries out contracts for the Bulgarian army, destroying stockpiles of obsolete munitions.

The cause of the blast was not immediately known but the interior ministry has criticised the factory`s "poor discipline", after six people were injured in explosions in 2007 and 2010.

(With AFP inputs)

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