Residents of the central Serbian city of Cacak were roused from their beds by a series of explosions, as the local factory making ammunition for tanks and artillery apparently went up in flames.
The ongoing blasts began around 1:30 am local time from the ‘Sloboda’ (Freedom) plant, southwest of Cacak, reportedly driving some local residents from their homes in panic.
Videos shared on social media showed a fiery blaze lighting up the night, amid constant explosions from ammunition rounds going off.
“Windows are shaking,” one woman from Cacak tweeted, calling it an “unprecedented human and environmental catastrophe.”
No official information is available on the extent of material damage or casualties, if any.
A correspondent for the Serbian newspaper Novosti filmed some of the residents fleeing the city. “Unbearable stench” was spreading through the city and shrapnel was raining from the sky, he reported.
Ambulances and police responding to the scene could not approach the factory due to safety concerns.
Founded in 1948, Sloboda employs more than 2,000 workers and specializes in production of tank and artillery shells, as well as several types of rocket-propelled anti-tank weapons. It was heavily bombed during the 1999 NATO campaign over Kosovo, but has been rebuilt since.
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