Interior minister cites both possible sabotage and security lapses after blast near Gorni Varpishta
A fire triggered by an explosion tore through an ammunition depot belonging to Bulgarian arms manufacturer EMCO overnight into Saturday, spreading from one warehouse to two neighbouring structures out of eleven on the site near Gorni Varpishta in central Bulgaria. Roughly 100 munition rounds detonated in secondary blasts before firefighting teams brought the flames under control by Saturday morning. No injuries were reported; all employees and two on-site guards were evacuated safely.
The incident is the second explosion at an EMCO facility in 33 days, following an August 10 blast at the company's depot near Belitsa in western Bulgaria. Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev confirmed Saturday that sabotage remains "among the versions being examined," while simultaneously attributing the fire to "neglect of the conditions under which explosives and ammunition are stored" — a dual framing that has placed Bulgaria's defence-industrial security at the centre of national debate.
Competing accounts, unresolved cause
EMCO's own statement rejects the negligence explanation outright, calling human error impossible given that the depot had been unused for months and was inspected seven times by the Interior Ministry this year, most recently 20 days before the fire, with full compliance confirmed each time. The company described the blast as part of "a series of acts of sabotage against the Bulgarian defence industry" dating to 2011, and noted that not a single investigation into more than ten similar incidents at Bulgarian defence firms has reached a conclusion — a failure it attributes to either state incompetence or complicity.
Demerdzhiev has ordered nationwide inspections of every ammunition warehouse in the country and said security arrangements need strengthening "in response to conditions across the region." Gabrovo District Prosecutor Tihomir Petkov has opened pre-trial proceedings, and President Iliana Iotova said she is considering convening the national security council.
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Bulgaria's government, under a center-left coalition aligned with former president Rumen Radev and historically hesitant on Ukraine aid, has notably avoided endorsing opposition suggestions of Moscow's involvement. That political caution does not resolve the underlying question. Whether Saturday's fire originated in negligence, sabotage, or the overlap between them, it has again exposed the gap between the inspections Bulgaria conducts and the security its defence-industrial sites actually deliver — the same gap now visible across multiple NATO states.
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