Explosion Rocks Pulp Factory Near Svishtov: Employee Injured (UPDATED)

An explosion occurred today at a pulp (cellulose) factory near Svishtov, Bulgaria. The incident happened around 11:30 a.m. at the Svilosa plant. According to reports from BNT, an employee was slightly injured in the blast. This information was confirmed by the mayor of Svishtov, Gencho Genchev, who is currently on-site overseeing the response.

The sequence of events began with a fire that ignited in one of the factory's departments. Shortly thereafter, the situation escalated with an explosion. Emergency services were quick to respond, and four fire brigades are actively working at the scene to control the fire and manage the aftermath of the explosion.

The extent of the damage and the cause of the fire and subsequent explosion are still under investigation. The response teams are focusing on ensuring there are no further injuries and preventing the spread of the fire. The factory's operations have been temporarily halted as authorities work to assess the full impact of the incident and address any ongoing safety concerns.

Update: All employees have been evacuated from the factory. At the moment, there is no data on the danger of air pollution. Fire brigade teams are on the scene until the accident is completely extinguished, informed the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Veliko Tarnovo.

"There was a fire at an installation that is part of the cellulose production installation, after which there was an explosion, the fire was extinguished, the consequences are yet to be determined", Mikhail Kolchev from the management of "Svilosa" told BNR. "There is an injured firefighter who fell and hit himself, as well as a worker who was hit, but their condition is not serious, they did not...