Local officials and medical personnel confirmed that a fire at a Bulgarian fireworks factory set off a series dramatic explosions on Thursday evening. One person died and another was seriously injured.

Around 6.30 pm, the blasts started in Elin Pelin, near Sofia. They sent high mushroom clouds into the night sky, with some of them flecked red and white from exploding fireworks.

"I felt like someone had shut the door in a rage the moment I saw it. It rattled windows. "The power went out immediately," a Nova TV resident said.

"I looked up, and through the windows I saw a beige cloud of mushroom that was spreading to the east."

On Thursday night, Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov announced that a man aged 49 died from injuries sustained in an fire. His 20-year-old daughter is currently in critical condition at the hospital.

He said that two men, the 22-year-old son and 60-year old employee of the warehouse, were believed to be in the warehouse. They are still unaccounted for.

Local media reported that residents heard smaller bangs throughout the night, and even into Friday morning. Witnesses said that the area was cordoned and military helicopters were scouring the scene.

On the site, military personnel including four water carriers and sappers as well as other military specialists deployed.

According to preliminary data reported by Bulgaria's News Agency, there were two tons TNT equivalents in one of these warehouses.