2024-07-27 13:10:28
Version: the fiery inferno for a botched light show rehearsal
A deceased university lecturer, a fireworks specialist, his daughter between life and death, the son of the owner of the blasting warehouse and another missing man.
Frightened residents in Elin Pelin and the neighboring village of Elin Pelin Station plus people who did not know where their loved ones were. This is the briefest way to describe the events after fireworks warehouses exploded at 6:20 p.m. on Thursday.
How many people were inside? The only witness – the guard, shocked by what happened, gave 3 different answers.
The two who could help with information were taken by ambulance to “Pirogov”. Assoc. Ph.D. Eng. Petar Shishkov, who teaches at the University of Mining and Geology, carried fireworks with his daughter Christina. The associate professor died on Friday night, and the 20-year-old girl has 85% burns.
The owner of the factory – Todor Popov, upset because his son Theodore was missing, also did not know who else was in the warehouses. Probably, in addition to the 22-year-old boy, there was also a 60-year-old man.
The versions of what happened are human error or a technical malfunction of fireworks. The owner company “Enigma” had an order for a wedding on Friday.
Shishkov, Kristina, Theodore and the fourth person either carried the fireworks or tested them. According to the guard’s testimony, the tragedy took place in a room outside the storage warehouses. According to people in the know, there were 6 warehouses.
During the fire, the temperature rose above 1000 degrees. The room had a light roof construction. It is believed that the flying fireworks broke through the roofs of some of the warehouses where there were other pyrotechnics. The walls are massive, built according to all the rules. Fortunately, the warehouse, which holds over 2 tons of TNT equivalent, was not affected.
“We have relatives in the warehouses, but we have no information about what is happening to them,” two women told “24 Chasa”. They could hardly hold back their tears. Others evacuated but said they left their pets behind. Tied them up so they could at least have a chance to escape. People also told how the windows of their homes were broken by the shock wave.
The explosions and the continued boom of fireworks throughout the night also set fire to a warehouse of a large food chain located about 800 meters from the scene of the tragedy. Fortunately, everything got away there with only material damage.
And on Friday morning, a woman told Nova TV: “I know from my daughter that the house split in two. I know the animals at home are gone. This was at the second thunderbolt. I made my daughter run away from there so I could take her to the upper hamlet. It was a scary thing, really,” she commented.
During this time, the authorities were wondering how to get into the warehouses. Army helicopters cooled the premises by spraying them with water. It was subsequently decided to stop this as there was a risk of a chemical reaction. And the berets even managed to get as close as possible with specialized equipment. However, due to the ongoing risks, everything went on hold.
The investigation of the tragedy was undertaken by the National Investigation Service and is led by the District Prosecutor’s Office – Sofia.
A case similar to the explosion in the fireworks warehouse near the Elin Pelin station also occurred at the Midjur plant 10 years ago. On October 1, 2014, 15 people died there. Again after a blast. The accused, including the owner Valery Mitkov, were finally acquitted in 2021 by the Supreme Court.
The owner of the company paved the “Balkan way of fireworks”
55-year-old Todor Stefanov Popov is the sole owner of the Enigma company, in whose warehouses the explosion occurred. The company is one of the largest in the industry in our country.
It has a 30-year history according to its website. The data in the Commercial Register show that it was established in April 2001 in Haskovo with a capital of BGN 5,000.
Its scope of activity is diverse – from the purchase of all types of goods or other items, not prohibited by law, with the aim of selling them in the country or abroad through hotel, warehouse, advertising, transport, impresario, commission and restaurant activities to transactions with intellectual property and private security. Its main activity is related to trade in amateur and professional fireworks.
“We made the “Balkan way of fireworks”. But we didn’t stop there. We have established ourselves in all major retail chains,” says the company’s website.
It has a chain of outlets also abroad in the USA, Georgia and Kosovo.
“Enigma” has its own production of pyrotechnics in China. It imports its goods mainly from China and India and a small part from Italy. Exports it to all countries of the Balkans plus Georgia, Slovakia, Belgium and the Netherlands.
The company has also created a team of pyrotechnicians and designers. About fifty people work for it. The team has a state-of-the-art computer system for launching and synchronizing fireworks shows.
Makes fire inscriptions, pyromusicals and 3D mapping shows, inscriptions in the sky. She has worked with some of the most famous Bulgarian performers. She participated in fire festivals in Russia, Taiwan, Japan and Spain.
At the end of June this year “Enigma” has organized a fireworks competition in Elin Pelin. Over the years, the revenues of “Enigma” have been continuously growing, according to the financial statements in the Commercial Register. The last one is for 2022, the turnover is BGN 12.4 million. The main part of them is sales. Revenues from services are about half a million BGN.
“Enigma” reports a profit of BGN 3.2 million for 2022.
Access to the building is organized through a pass with 24/7 duty. Although the warehouse was said to have been equipped using state-of-the-art methods, experts commented that such a facility should not be built in a field near houses. The last houses of the train station in Elin Pelin are at a distance of 500 to 1000 meters from the warehouse, according to victims. They wonder who allowed such a dangerous warehouse to be built near a populated place.
“Enigma” company was among the leaders who led a battle against the ban of the Metropolitan Municipal Council for the outdoor use of fireworks. It is listed in the Ordinance on public order on the territory of the Metropolitan Municipality. Although they won at first instance, the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) has finally left the ban on fireworks, firecrackers, bombs and any pyrotechnic devices. They can be used freely only on New Year’s Day from 18:00 on 31 December to 2:00 on 1 January. In the rest of the year, this can only be done after a previously submitted request and permission.
In addition to the “National Association of Importers and Traders of Pyrotechnic Products”, Todor Popov is also a co-founder of the “Enigma Firework” basketball club, established in 2020. In it, he sometimes played with number 13, according to his friends.