What is known about the second explosion in just over a month at an EMCO ammunition depot in Bulgaria—including when and where it occurred, how the fire spread among the 11 warehouses, the ammunition and gunpowder stored there, the safe evacuation of guards, absence of casualties

A second EMCO ammunition-depot fire and explosion occurred overnight on September 11–12 near Gorni Varpishte/Tsareva Livada in Bulgaria’s Gabrovo region, just over a month after a similar incident near Belitsa. No injuries or deaths were reported, but the cause remains unconfirmed and Bulgarian authorities are examining arson, sabotage, and possible external involvement. 1267

What happened at the second depot

• The fire began in one of the site’s 11 warehouses and spread to two adjoining warehouses, triggering detonations of stored ammunition. 7
• EMCO said the depot contained ammunition and gunpowder; guards were evacuated safely. Authorities said there was no immediate danger to nearby people, other properties, or forested areas. 26
• The precise ignition source and responsibility have not been officially established. Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry said it was considering sabotage and a possible connection with the August incident, while investigators have not excluded external involvement. 12

The August 10 Belitsa incident

• On August 10, a fire followed by explosions struck another EMCO ammunition facility near Belitsa, in Tryavna municipality. That investigation was still open in early September, with Bulgaria’s security agency joining the inquiry and at least 11 witnesses questioned. 4
• Military teams later cleared the surrounding area of unexploded material and debris; reporting said they found 53 unexploded munitions and about 1,070 kg of metal fragments. 3
• The recurrence at another EMCO site only 33 days later is the central reason the newer event has been treated as more than an ordinary industrial accident. 27

Why sabotage fears are substantial—but unproven

• The incidents arise amid a broader European pattern of suspected fires, explosions, and other disruption involving defense-related facilities and supply chains, particularly those connected with support for Ukraine. But the available evidence does not establish that this latest EMCO fire was part of that pattern or attributable to a state actor.
• EMCO is headed by arms trader Emilian Gebrev. Bulgarian prosecutors have previously alleged that Russian operatives targeted Gebrev and his facilities; Sofia linked his 2015 suspected poisoning to Russian military intelligence, the GRU. 28
• In 2024, Bulgaria issued arrest warrants for six Russian citizens accused of involvement in the destruction of EMCO depots between 2011 and 2020, where munitions intended for export to Ukraine and Georgia were stored. Prosecutors said there were reasonable grounds to see connections among those blasts, the 2015 poisoning attempt against Gebrev, and the 2014 Vrbětice ammunition-depot explosions in the Czech Republic. 2
• Moscow has rejected those allegations. 2

Assessment

The evidence supports heightened concern, not a confirmed attribution. Two EMCO ammunition-facility incidents in little more than a month, the company’s record of alleged prior targeting, and the unresolved earlier cases create a plausible sabotage concern. But neither investigators nor the Bulgarian government have publicly confirmed arson, identified perpetrators, or proved a Russian connection in the September fire. That gap—rather than proof—has intensified fears that Bulgaria’s arms industry may be deliberately targeted. 124