Explosion at KNDS ammunition plant near Rome injures none, investigators probe cause

Explosion at KNDS ammunition plant

A powerful explosion struck the KNDS Ammo Italy plant in Colleferro, about 40 kilometres southeast of Rome, on Thursday afternoon, 13 August 2026. The blast followed a fire that broke out in the facility's powder-pressing department, according to Italian daily Corriere della Sera. Firefighters and police were already on site responding to the fire when the explosion occurred, sending a large mushroom-shaped plume of smoke above the industrial area. The deflagration was heard several kilometres away.

KNDS, the Franco-German defence group that owns the plant, confirmed in a statement that no injuries had been reported. About 20 employees were present at the time, all of whom escaped without injury, according to ANSA. Italy's AGI news agency reported that workers had sheltered in secure areas within the facility after the fire triggered an alarm that gave them sufficient time to reach safety.

Emergency response and official statements

The fire service deployed 10 rescue crews to the scene. Footage shared by the fire service showed thick smoke but no visible flames, while videos on social media captured the initial fire followed by the massive explosion. Emergency crews continued working to extinguish the last pockets of fire.

Francesco Rocca, president of the Lazio region, issued a statement prioritising safety.

At this time, the absolute priority is to ensure people's safety and allow all personnel involved in the emergency response to operate under the best possible conditions.

Colleferro mayor Giulio Calamita posted on Facebook, urging calm and warning against spreading misinformation. He noted that the outcome could have been far worse had it not occurred during the summer holiday period, when the plant was largely shut down.

The shock is great, but at this moment it is important to stay calm and above all not to spread false information.

Investigation and cause

The Velletri prosecutor's office is investigating the incident, with ANSA reporting that arson is among the lines of inquiry. However, initial findings cited by investigators through Ansa indicated the blast was likely caused by an accident at a powder compaction press, not arson or sabotage. The exact circumstances remain to be clarified.

KNDS said the circumstances were being investigated and assessed by teams on site, and that it could not yet provide confirmed details on the cause or the exact sequence of events.

Plant background and prior incident

The Colleferro facility, formerly known as Simmel Difesa, manufactures medium- and large-calibre ammunition for land and naval defence systems, as well as solid propellants for aerospace launch vehicles. The company is among contractors under European Defence Agency framework agreements for 155-mm ammunition concluded in 2023.

A previous explosion at the same plant in October 2007 killed one worker and injured 13 others.

Connection to Bulgarian factory blast

The Italian explosion came only three days after a blast at a munitions factory in Bulgaria operated by EMKO, a private defence company owned by businessman Emilian Ghebrev. As with the Italian incident, the Bulgarian explosion was preceded by a fire. Ghebrev was targeted in 2015 by an assassination attempt attributed to Russia's GRU military intelligence. Both Italian and Bulgarian authorities have been cautious about attributing either incident to sabotage.