People evacuated over munitions depo blasts allowed to return home

Some 400 people evacuated from their homes on Wednesday over explosions at a munitions storage site in eastern Moravia have been allowed to return home, the police said. The inhabitants of two villages in the vicinity of the site had to leave after new explosions occurred; however, the last blast was heard on Thursday, and pyrotechnics experts said there was no immediate threat to the surrounding communities. The storage facility, run by a private firm, first exploded in October, killing two employees. The authorities say it could take months before the site is cleared of all remaining munitions.