Six halls of the Clothing Enterprise in Prostějov were blown up with a ton of dynamite

Prostějov - This morning, the area of the collapsed Clothing Enterprise (OP) in Prostějov was shaken by the explosion of a ton of dynamite, which brought down six production halls. Prostějov thus lost a landmark of the industrial part of the city, where the six-story buildings of the enterprise had stood for several decades. The blast also required a brief closure of the R46 expressway.
"It went like in America," said the explosives master Zdeněk Šobíšek from Prague to ČTK. He admitted that he was nervous before the operation. "I felt a great relief. To carry out a life-altering demolition that went almost well, there are always some chips, is unique. I think it will take a long time before someone does something similar," added the explosives master. A 16-member group had been planning the blast under his leadership for three months.
If the buildings were lined up, according to Šobíšek, they would be 530 meters long. "It was challenging, just to walk it while loading. We are as exhausted as fools. It involved hundreds of drills into heavily reinforced (reinforced) columns, which sometimes could not be drilled and had to be burned. Loading and blasting was a joy; the worst part was the preparation," Šobíšek added, who has been in the field for 33 years.
According to him, the explosives masters used 2404 non-electric and 856 electric charges, totaling 1193 kilograms of dynamite. The buildings fell within moments. Surrounding streets were closed due to the blast, with police and firefighters overseeing the order. "People had to be kept away. It was necessary because debris really flew to the edge of the safety circle," said Miroslav Vantuch, the commander of the volunteer firefighters from the part of the city Vrahovice, to ČTK.
Firefighters also tried with streams of water to prevent a large cloud of dust from spreading to populated areas. Six units with more than 40 firefighters were on site. The blast was watched by numerous people who took advantage of elevated spots nearby, windows, balconies, and rooftops of nearby buildings. Some did not hide their mixed feelings. "The factory employed thousands of people; it was a piece of the city's history," sighed an elderly man who claimed to have worked for years at the former Clothing Enterprise.
According to regional police spokesperson Marta Vlachová, the police did not report any problems related to the blast. According to her, there were no significant complications on the R46 road, which was closed for about 15 minutes.
At the beginning of the year, the main site of the collapsed OP in Prostějov became the property of Astria Group, which decided to demolish the production buildings. They plan to build a large exhibition hall on part of the land, and some plots will likely be offered to investors.
Bankruptcy was declared on the assets of the indebted OP in May 2010. Claims against the Clothing Enterprise are made by 555 creditors, who requested more than two billion crowns. However, they received only about 400 million crowns. At times when OP also operated its branch plants, it employed up to 10,000 people.
The company's collapse also has a criminal law aftermath. Five former members of the management board of OP were recently charged with over-indebtedness, which could lead to up to three years in prison if found guilty. Additionally, last year, a former OP manager was charged with embezzlement due to the company's collapse, facing up to ten years.