Policka, East Bohemia, Feb 23 (CTK) – The Czech police sealed off a 1,200-1,300 metre area around the Policske strojirny machinery plant and evacuated people from the nearby houses as there is still the danger of a blast yesterday, police spokeswoman Hana Kaizarova has told CTK.
Roughly 60-80 people from the houses will spend at least one night outside their homes, Kaizarova and Policka Mayor Jaroslav Martinu said.
The plant is located in Boriny, a part of Policka, a small town with about 8,700 residents.
A series of explosions occurred in one of the halls in the plant earlier yesterday. A total of 19 people suffered serious injuries and there were also light injuries. Some firefighters sustained injuries, too.
The blast was caused by TNT, which is part of ammunition, the Czech Mining Administration (CBU) spokesman Bohuslav Machek said.
Its explosion then moved on to other stored material, which caused the series of blasts, he added.
The police have also closed two roads to the local small towns of Jimramov and Jedlova so that no one could drive in, Kaizarova said, adding that the people were leaving their homes.
“Some 60 to 80 people live there. There is a block of flats and about four houses. No one has asked us for help, we are waiting now,” Martinu said.
Since there are pressure vessels in the plant, bomb disposal experts have preventively ordered the evacuation. There is still the danger of more blasts.
The police and firefighters will be watching the plant for several days to come. The time cannot yet be estimated, Regional Governor Martin Netolicky (Social Democrats, CSSD) said.
An emergency committee is still in session, Netolicky said.
The third degree of fire alarm was declared.
Ten ambulances were sent to the plant and three most serious cases were driven to burn centers in Prague and Brno.
The company Policske strojirny said the incident had occurred at the explosives press.
The staff were immediately evacuated, even before the firefighters had come, company director Petr Nemec said.
“The subsequent fire of the hall caused further blasts of the material,” he added.
Nemec said the manufacturing halls had been built along with protective land walls so that the area around the plant were minimally harmed and threatened in the event of an explosion.
The firefighters said the hall with the explosives was still burning, but it was isolated from the rest.
“We are watching the plant from a safe distance. It is being checked by a police helicopter from above. We will wait until the fire burns out,” Ales Cernohorsky, a senior firefighting officer, said.
The time cannot be estimated. Bomb disposal experts and the police will have the main say, Cernohorsky said.
The CBU, that is in charge of explosives, is dealing with the incident. Its inspectors are on the scene, waiting for the area to be freed for their examining the place, Machek told CTK.
In September 2015, 320 tonnes of gun powder exploded in the plant. The roof of its hall flew over 50 metres into a forest. Two people suffered burns.
Originally an arms maker, Policske strojirny now mainly manufactures pneumatic products.
