A powerful explosion killed a number of firemen on June 9 as they fought to control a blazing fuel depot which had burned through the night outside the Kyiv, the interior minister said.
“There was an explosion at a fuel depot. Huge. Firemen have been killed. Emergency services are marshalling all their resources,” minister Arsen Avakov tweeted.
At least nine tanks storing mainly gasoline at the depot in Vasylkiv, 30 km (19 miles) from Kyiv, were on fire sending a huge pall of smoke over the surrounding area.
A huge fire-fighting operation was in action involving 62 firefighting units and three trains which had delivered equipment and water supplies to the area, emergency services said.
Emergency services said at least five workers had been injured.
The fire began in one fuel tank and spread to others.
