Explosion occurred in the Czech Republic at an ammunition depot of a defense company

On the morning of March 25, an explosion took place at an ammunition depot of a defense company in the Czech Republic. A fire broke out afterward.

The evacuation of the population from the surrounding areas continues. Armored fire trucks are being used to eliminate the fire.

The Czech Fire and Rescue Service reported on this.

The explosion happened at about 9:00 a.m. at the Poličské strojíren plant near the town of Polička. After that, the evacuation of employees began.

One person was seriously injured and was taken to the hospital by helicopter.

Ve strojírenském podniku v Poličce došlo před 9:00 hodinou k explozi.
Vzhledem k nebezpečné povaze prostředí je vyhlášen 3. st požárního poplachu.
Hasiči evakuovali 1 zraněnou osobu a předali ji ZZS.
Další osoby z areálu evakuujeme. @HZS_Pardubice má na místě 11 jednotek.

— Hasičský záchranný sbor ČR (@hasici_cr) March 25, 2025

“There was an explosion at an ammunition depot. People were evacuated. There is one victim,” Alena Kysyala, a spokeswoman for the rescue service, reported in the morning, according to ČTK Ceske Noviny.

As of 12:00 p.m., 11 fire crews were working at the scene. Several nearby roads are blocked.

At 13:30, the fire and rescue service reported that they had begun evacuating people living within 1.5 kilometers of the scene.

The police preliminarily linked the incident to a process disruption.

The Czech iROZHLAS news portal reports that the Poličské strojírny facility, where the explosion occurred, belongs to the STV Invest holding, which leases part of the company’s premises.

It is noted that the STV group’s plant near Polička produces large-caliber ammunition, which is used, among other places, in Ukraine. It also repairs military equipment and supplies spare parts.

Last April, the Czech police accused Russian special services of committing a series of sabotage attacks on ammunition depots in Vrbetice that took place in 2014.