Human error is the most likely cause of the deadly blast in the Midzhur explosives factory in the village of Gorni Lom, which killed 15 people on October 1, said caretaker Interior Minister Yordan Bakalov.

According to Bakalov, some of the people, guilty of the blast are alive and have to be investigated.

In an interview for the bTV national channel, Bakalov repeated his theory that the owner of the Midzhur factory, Valeri Mitkov, has “protection from very high levels”, which allowed the factory to continue operations, in spite the many safety problems, established by the Interior Ministry.

Bakalov refused to elaborate who protects Mitkov, but added that apparently his contacts were at high level and are still active, judging by information from local people on who visits Mitkov's winery and who his hunting friends are.

“It is high time that Bulgarian businessmen start investing in safe work conditions, instead of yachts and limos,” Bakalov said.