The Bulgarian metropolitan police found rockets with 380 firework batteries and numerous squibs during the search of the "Vasil Levski" National Stadium, where the derby between Levski and CSKA started at 14:45 local time today.
In addition, the uniformed officers found explosive devices with remotes. A search of the facility began at 6:30 a.m. Some cameras in the stadium were found to have been switched off, so it could not be established how the pyrotechnics in question were imported.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Interior gave an impromptu briefing on the track at the National Stadium, admitting they were surprised by the number of rockets and bombs found.
"From what we can see, we can safely watch the dawn for one half. We have seen the appeals of the clubs, but you can see how much they have considered this thing," Chief Inspector Ivan Georgiev, who is the head of the "Mass Events" sector at the Sodia Metropolitan Police Directorate (SMPD), told journalists.
"There was a meeting at the SMPD attended by representatives of both clubs as well as supporters of both teams and we wanted to avoid bringing in pyrotechnics, but this did not happen. Rockets and improvised explosive devices were seized, some with remote devices attached . It is impossible to say when these things were imported, it was found that this morning 5 of the cameras in the stadium are not working. The rest have not been reviewed, we need technological time. We are surprised by the amount of imported materials, the approach is innovative," he added.
"With these rockets, pen type - some have 380 shots, others have 300. One rocket can fire for 6-7 minutes, which means that for the whole amount we can watch half of the match only fireworks. They can inflict a lot of material and physical damage", explained the representative of SMPD. /BGNES
