(Bloomberg) — A KNDS NV plant southeast of Rome that makes ammunition for land and naval forces was rocked by a fire and explosions, prompting an evacuation of company personnel.
No injuries were reported after the blast Thursday at the KNDS Ammo Italy facility, according to a representative of Italy’s national police. The former Simmel Difesa plant in Colleferro, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Rome, makes medium and large-caliber ammunition for land and naval defense as well as propellant powders.
“The circumstances surrounding the incident are currently being investigated and assessed by the teams on site,” a company representative said in an emailed statement, adding it was too early to provide confirmed information on the cause or the sequence of events that led to the blast.
The fire broke out in the KNDS plant’s powder pressing department, the Ansa newswire reported. The facility produces explosive defense products including fuzes, ammunition, grenades, missile warheads, rockets and propellant powders.
Company personnel were evacuated, the police representative said in response to a request for comment. Firefighters almost extinguished the fire by Thursday afternoon, the official said.
The incident in the middle of a European heat wave points up the industrial safety risks in Europe’s defense buildup as manufacturing of dangerous weaponry increases. A fast-moving fire at a Rheinmetall AG ammunition plant in Murcia, Spain, in January 2025, disrupted production for almost one year.
The KNDS site also includes storage areas and facilities for the production, loading and assembly of explosive products, according to an official Italian government industrial safety database operated by ISPRA.
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