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Ukraine's fuel depot fire threatens military warehouse: official

Xinhua, June 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

The fire that engulfed a fuel depot outside the Ukrainian capital of Kiev is approaching a military warehouse with munitions, a senior security official said Tuesday.

"There is a serious danger for the military unit with a warehouse of military arsenal, which is situated approximately 50 meters from the edge of the fire," said Oleksandr Turchynov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC).

According to preliminary data, reservoirs with a total capacity of about 14,000 tons of oil products are currently ablaze, Turchynov said, adding that the NSDC has already started evacuations from the military warehouse.

Meanwhile, State Emergency Service head Mykola Chechetkin said that rescuers are evacuating local people who live within a 2-km radius from the epicenter of the fire.

According to the latest data unveiled by the country's Interior Ministry, at least one person was killed and 14 others, including seven rescue workers, were injured in the fire that started late Monday at one fuel tank of the fuel depot near Vasylkiv town, 38 km south of Kiev.

On Tuesday morning, the blaze spread to 16 other oil reservoirs following a massive blast.

The Interior Ministry said that a technical fault and violation of safety regulations are possible causes of the fire, while the company that owns the fuel depot, BRSM-Nafta, said the blaze may have been caused by arson. Endi