A powerful explosion has torn through an ammunition factory southeast of Rome, sending a large plume of smoke into the sky and shaking the surrounding area for kilometres. No injuries were reported.
The blast occurred at the KNDS Ammo Italy facility in Colleferro, in the Lazio region of central Italy, roughly 50 kilometres from the Italian capital, at about 2.40pm on August 13.
The plant, formerly known as Simmel Difesa, is operated by a subsidiary of the Franco-German defence group KNDS.
It produces medium and large-calibre ammunition for land and naval systems, as well as solid propellants for aerospace launch vehicles. Fuzes, grenades and missile warheads are also made at the site.
According to local reports and company statements, a fire first broke out in the powder-pressing department. Early witness accounts pointed to a press that exploded during processing, ANSA reported.
Firefighters and police were already on site dealing with the blaze when the explosion followed.
Videos circulating on social media showed flames, a sudden detonation and a mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke rising above the industrial site. The detonation was heard up to 30 kilometres away, with residents across the Sacco valley reporting shaking buildings and broken windows.
NOW – Massive explosion tears through an ammunition plant near Rome owned by Franco-German defense giant KNDS, a major supplier of weapons systems and munitions to Ukraine.pic.twitter.com/v9pBj26Zsz
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) August 13, 2026
KNDS confirmed that no victims had been reported.
“The circumstances surrounding the incident are currently being investigated and assessed by the teams on site,” the company said in a statement.
It added that it was too early to provide confirmed details on the cause or exact sequence of events.
Colleferro mayor Giulio Calamita said the plant was closed for the summer holidays at the time of the incident.
“It would have been a tragedy” otherwise, he told Adnkronos, noting that emergency services were continuing efforts to extinguish remaining fires.
Calamita said damage in the nearest residential district was limited to broken windows and that he had not activated the municipal emergency centre. A shopping outlet close to the plant was not evacuated.
Local media reported that the 24 staff on duty had all been accounted for and moved to safety.
The plant’s fire-suppression system triggered before the detonation, allowing workers to reach protected areas, according to ANSA. The agency reported that the site was operational at the time, with many production lines suspended for the holiday period.
Italian investigators are treating the event as an industrial accident.
The public prosecutor’s office in Velletri has opened an inquiry for the offence of causing a fire, and early assessments have ruled out sabotage or any subversive act. Carabinieri from Colleferro and the investigative unit in Frascati are conducting the inquiry.
Access to the precise site of the blast remained restricted for safety reasons while firefighting continued.
Fire crews brought the blaze under control shortly after 6pm, though make-safe operations ran into the night.
The facility supplies ammunition to more than 40 countries and is among the contractors involved in European Defence Agency framework agreements for 155mm artillery rounds, signed in 2023 as part of efforts to boost European production capacity.
All 27 EU member states and Norway have signed the agency’s collaborative ammunition procurement arrangement, which pairs a two-year fast track for 155mm rounds with a seven-year project covering calibres from 5.56mm upwards.
The scheme was agreed in March 2023 as EU capitals sought to replenish national stocks while supplying artillery ammunition to Ukraine. Seven member states had placed orders through the fast-track mechanism by October that year.
The incident comes amid a wider expansion of defence manufacturing across Europe. Production capacity has been scaled up since 2023 under the Act in Support of Ammunition Production, which channels EU funding into industrial expansion.
KNDS Ammo Italy reported turnover of €109.5 million and net profit of €16.9 million for 2025, with a workforce of more than 180, according to TGCom24.
Regional authorities, including Lazio president Francesco Rocca, said they were monitoring the situation closely, with the priority remaining the safety of residents and emergency personnel.
Firefighting operations involved 10 crews and a Drago helicopter of the national fire service as the blaze briefly spread to nearby vegetation before being brought under control. Specialist nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological units were sent from Rome.
The plant has a history of incidents, including an explosion in October 2007 that killed one worker and injured 13.
The industrial site predates the town itself, having opened in 1912, and an explosion there in 1938 killed 60 people.
The August 13 blast caused no reported casualties.
Further details on the extent of damage and the precise cause are expected once investigators can fully access the site.
