Valeri Mitkov, the owner of a munitions factory which an explosion leveled to the ground killing 15 people in Bulgaria's north-west, has cited sabotage as a reason for the incident.

"It is impossible for a single triggered land mine to lead to such a terrible tragedy. Thousands of it and other munitions have been defused in this factory. These mines were activated by a brisant explosive. There is no other way to activate them," Mitkov told private national channel NOVA TV.

In his words, this act could be triggered from a location as far as Sofia, "Belgrade... or New York if you prefer".

Mitkov's son was among the victims of the incident that occured at Midzhur last week.

Authorities are still investigating into the blast, with most reports suggesting a human error caused the tragedy.

Labor Minister Yordan Hristoskov earlier blamed the management of the plant, arguing the employer failed to tackle 13 violations registered during the last visit by labor inspectors.

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