By Anna Mudeva
SOFIA (Reuters) - A series of powerful explosions rocked anarms disposal depot storing 1,500 tonnes of obsolete munitionsoutside Sofia on Thursday, injuring three people, shakingapartment blocks and panicking thousands.
The explosions followed a fire at the complex near thevillage of Chelopechene on the eastern edge of the Bulgariancapital, police and civil defence officials said.
Sofia was later shaken by a 3.2-magnitude earthquake, thegeological institute said. It said there was no link to theblasts. The tremor's epicentre was about 15 km (10 miles) southof the capital and caused no casualties or damage.
The explosions continued for about eight hours. Authoritiessaid smaller blasts were likely in the next 24 hours and urgedSofia's nearly two million citizens to stay calm.
Checks showed increased emissions of sulphur and nitrogendioxide in the air in eastern and north-eastern suburbs butcivil defence officials said human health was not threatened.
Sofia's international airport to the east of the capitalwas shut temporarily after debris from the blasts fell on therunway. Incoming flights were diverted to the southern city ofPlovdiv.
"This morning at 6:30 a.m. (4:30 a.m. British time) a firebroke out in the area of Chelopechene and explosions followed,"the emergencies ministry said in a statement.
Guards at the arms complex, which is attached to a militarybase that is being closed down, were evacuated.
Three people from nearby villages were injured, policesaid. Two suffered cuts from flying glass and the third wastaken to hospital with breathing difficulties.
About 2,000 people from Chelopechene and nearby villageswere evacuated, while others fled their homes in panic.
"We were scared to death," Nadka Doncheva, 61, who lives inthe village, told Reuters. "All the windows are broken."
"The house was shaking. I thought it was an earthquake," atearful woman from Chelopechene told national radio.
Authorities are investigating the reason for theexplosions.
The blasts shook apartment blocks and broke windows ineastern districts of Sofia, witnesses said. Some people dashedinto the streets in panic.
"The threat is over. The danger arising from the 20 tonnesof TNT stored there has passed because it had burnt out,"Defence Minister Nikolai Tsonev said after an emergency cabinetmeeting.
"The explosions are declining. There is no reason forpeople to fear dangerous air pollution," he added.
NATO member Bulgaria is due to destroy up to 100,000 tonnesof Soviet-era munitions, officials say.
Power utilities started restoring electricity supplies toindustrial plants and villages near the site of the blasts.
(Additional reporting by Tsvetelia Ilieva and Oleg Popov;Editing by Janet Lawrence)
