A fire broke out at the ZVS Holding production site in the Slovak city of Snina, which manufactures artillery shell casings, including for 155 mm ammunition supplied to Ukraine. This is already the second similar incident in a week at European facilities whose products are supplied to Ukraine, The Moscow Times reports, according to UNN.
Details
The fire broke out on September 16. Local authorities urged residents not to approach the facility and to limit the time spent outdoors while the fire was being extinguished.
According to CSG Holding representative Andrei Chirtek, the fire started on the roof of the building during repair work carried out by an outside company. The employees were evacuated, there were no injuries, and the fire was brought under control in approximately two hours.
Production temporarily halted
Due to the incident, production at the affected facility was temporarily suspended. The extent of the damage and the cause of the fire will be assessed and determined later
ZVS Holding is part of MSM Group, which is a division of the Czech industrial holding company Czechoslovak Group. The company manufactures ammunition for tanks, artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, mortar shells and ammunition components. The plant in Snina specializes, among other things, in casings for 155 mm artillery shells.
The fire occurred several days after a blaze on September 11 at an ammunition warehouse belonging to the Bulgarian defense company EMCO, whose products are also supplied to Ukraine. Bulgarian law enforcement authorities are considering various theories regarding that incident, including possible arson.