Bulgaria investigates EMCO ammunition-site fire as company alleges sabotage

Bulgaria is investigating an overnight fire at an ammunition storage site operated by EMCO near the village of Gorni Varpishta in central Bulgaria. The blaze triggered a series of explosions, but no one was injured.

Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said authorities were not ruling out outside interference. EMCO said the incident was sabotage and that human error had been “completely ruled out”.

Storage site had been unused for months

EMCO said the facility was about 170km east of Sofia and had not been used for several months. The company said it was inspected 20 days before the fire and found to be fully compliant with regulations.

The company did not identify who might be responsible. It said the incident was part of a series of similar cases involving Bulgaria’s defence industry since 2011.

Another EMCO fire occurred last month

The latest fire followed a blaze and explosions at another EMCO ammunition warehouse in the same area last month.

EMCO is run by Bulgarian arms dealer Emilian Gebrev. Bulgarian prosecutors have alleged that he was previously targeted by Russian agents: Gebrev, his son and another company employee were the subjects of a poisoning attempt in 2015. Three Russian nationals were later charged in absentia with attempted murder.

Bulgaria is a major weapons supplier to Ukraine, which is resisting Russia’s full-scale invasion launched in 2022. Sofia has recently halted state-owned arms supplies to Ukraine, but private Bulgarian defence companies continue to transfer weapons.

Several European countries have reported suspicious fires at defence facilities in recent months, from Italy to Estonia. Germany also said Russia was behind an August drone attack at Leipzig airport; Moscow dismissed the claim as absurd.