Lom

A 15-strong team from the National Investigative Service is to have access to the area where an explosion demolished an ammunition factory in Bulgaria's north-west, killing 15 people.

This is the first time anyone, except for a fire-brigade unit using special equipment, will enter the site after the 24-hour ban was lifted on Thursday, 21:00 EEST (19:00 GMT).

A new product was introduced Thursday on the assembly line at the explosives factory near Bulgaria's Gorni Lom shortly before some of the ammo went off, a trade-union leader says.

Friday, October 3 will be a day of national mourning after the explosion at the Midzhur ammunition factory near the northwestern village of Gorni Lom, the Council of Ministers has announced.

There were fourteen people at the time of the explosion in the ammo factory Midzhur near the village of Gorni Lom in Bulgaria's north-west, witnesses say.

Initial reports suggested fifteen people could have been inside and feared dead, with the Interior Ministry saying there were no signs of life except for a movement of a wild animal detected earlier on Thursday morning.

Bulgaria's caretaker Labor Minister Yordan Hristoskov informed that the explosives factory near the village of Gorni Lom, which was stricken by a powerful blast on Wednesday, had been issued a number of penalty notices.

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The death toll from Wednesday's blast at an explosives factory in northwestern Bulgaria could be as high as 15, according to unofficial estimates.

Two women have been injured in a blast at a privately-owned plant specialized in the production of explosives near the northwestern village of Gorni Lom, Vidin district.

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The water level of the Danube River near Bulgaria's Lom rose by 54 centimeters over the past 24 hours to 824 centimeters, causing the lowest sections of the port to get flooded.

Work continues only in the high berths of the port complex, while the activities at the other ones have been stopped and power supply has been cut, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.

Heavy rainfall has prompted a state of emergency in 2 northwestern municipalities of Bulgaria.

The municipalities of Chuprene and Ruzhintsi in the Vidin region have been the most affected by the intense rain in the past days. The nearby dam in Gyurgich overflowed on Wednesday night, but is reportedly under control now, Dariknews revealed.