The Reintegration Polices Bureau provided details about the incident that happened at the Metallurgical Plant based in Rybnitsa town, where the furnace stopped working. It confirmed that such an incident took place this month, but said that the emergency response services of the General Inspectorate for Emergencies weren’t called out, IPN reports.

The Bureau noted the Inspectorate’s emergency response services weren’t requested even if there is a working group consisting of experts of Chisinau and Tiraspol that deals with emergencies. An internal inquiry is conducted as part of the communication with Tiraspol to determine the causes of the incident.

On social networking sites, it was written that the local authorities in Rybnitsa are trying to hide the scale of the incident that resulted in emissions of harmful substances. Reportedly, employees of the plant later signed non-disclosure commitments as they are afraid to lose their jobs.

The administration of the National Agency for Reregulation of Nuclear and Radiological Activities told IPN that it wasn’t informed about the incident, noting it will comment on the issue later.