A terrible disaster threatened Brno. There were 19 tons of white phosphorus in the shed

According to the public prosecutor’s office, three men gambled with human lives. According to the indictment, Rudolf Mazánek and Jan Chovanec arranged a business transaction with white phosphorus, which went from them to Petar Jaroš.

According to the indictment, he was aware of what he was receiving in the two hundred barrels, yet he placed them in a completely inappropriate place under a shelter in a normal building.

On the opposite side of the barricade, according to Novinek, was a policeman from the Vyško Economic Crime Squad, Jan Vrána. He came across traces of phosphorus thanks to the fact that Mazánek and Chovanec tried to get rid of the substance in a different way – and cheaper – instead of properly disposing of it.

There was an acute danger of an accident, which could have completely devastating consequences for the surrounding area

As it follows from the indictment, which was presented by public prosecutor Robert Hanuš at the Brno Regional Court on Thursday, the men handed over the substance to two companies processing waste in two cases before transporting the phosphorus to Rajhrad, but they concealed what it was about.

In both cases, the phosphorus started burning. “Employees were at risk and other people in the vicinity could have been at risk,” described the prosecutor. Burning white phosphorus cannot be extinguished with water, it is toxic and causes extreme burns.

When it was not possible to get rid of the dangerous substance in this way, Mazánek and Chovanec approached Jaroš, according to the indictment.

At the same time, according to the prosecutor’s office, he had no qualms about the unauthorized handling of hazardous waste, as he was already supposed to store tons of various chemicals in completely inappropriate places, which also posed a risk of explosion or other environmental damage.

But after the aforementioned incident, when the phosphorus started burning, Lieutenant Vrána was already on the trail of the men.

“Thanks to his intervention and in cooperation with the fire department, there was no tragedy in the Rajhrad complex in the city center. During the last weighing of the barrels, several of them overturned. It was only a matter of time before the phosphorus ignited and a chain reaction occurred,” a source familiar with the case told Novinka.

The police and firemen secured all the barrels and took them to the warehouse of dangerous substances.

“The expert opinion clearly demonstrated that there was an acute danger of an accident, which could have completely devastating consequences for the surrounding area. The burning of 19 tons of white phosphorus, which was stored here, is hard for anyone to imagine,” the source added.

The defendants and the two companies in which they worked are now facing punishment in court for public endangerment and other crimes, and the police are demanding twelve million crowns from them, which is the cost of disposing of the phosphorus.

After presenting the indictment, the defense attorneys asked the president of the senate, Dita Řepková, for time to negotiate a possible plea agreement with the public prosecutor’s office. The court granted their request and postponed the hearing until mid-December.