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2 reported missing after Czech ammunition storehouse blast

16 October 2014 18:15 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA.Two people were reported missing in a blast at an ammunition storage facility in Vlachovice-Vrbetice, Czech Republic on Thursday, police said, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Police evacuated hundreds of people from nearby firms and a training school, saying surrounding villages were not threatened as the storehouse was far from residential areas.

"The building stores infantry and artillery ammunition," said Czech regional fire corps' spokesman Libor Netopil.

Police spokeswoman Monika Kozumplikova said that five people were in the storage facility. Three of them left before the explosion, but the remaining two were missing.

Czech General Staff spokeswoman Jana Ruzickova said the military was not using the facility at the time of the accident.

The civilian firm that used the premises, Imex Group, deals with supplies of arms and ammunition for the military and police, according to the Defense and Security Industry Association of the Czech Republic.