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| Powerful explosion at Vasylkiv gasoline depot this morning |
A powerful
explosion killed a number of firemen on Tuesday as they fought to control a
blazing fuel depot which had burned through the night outside the Ukrainian
capital, Kiev, the interior minister said.
At least nine tanks storing mainly gasoline at the
depot in Vasylkiv, 30 km (19 miles) from Kiev, were on fire sending a huge pall
of smoke over the surrounding area.
A huge fire-fighting operation was in action involving
62 fire-fighting units and three trains which had delivered equipment and water
supplies to the area, emergency services said.
"There was an explosion at a fuel depot. Huge.
Firemen have been killed. Emergency services are marshalling all their
resources, the minister, Arsen Avakov, tweeted.
Emergency services said at least five workers had been
injured.
The fire began in one fuel tank and spread to others.
"As
of 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) efforts to fight the fire are still going on. The fire
extended over eight tanks with a capacity of 900 cubic meters and several small
containers," the service said.
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