The first official count of the victims of the college fire in Odesa on Dec. 4 puts the casualties at one killed, 14 missing and 27 hospitalized.
While the cause of the fire is not yet known, one possible reason is the building’s old electrical wiring, which has not been changed since 1966, Korrespondent.net news portal reports.
The count came from a Facebook statement by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, published on Dec. 5 as of information at 6 a.m.
Kseniya Babenko, a 16-year old student of the local Economics, Law and Hotel Management College, died in the fire.
The 14 missing people include five college students and two researchers from the Marine Biology Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The institute is located in the same building as the college, on 25 Troyitska Street in downtown Odesa.
Five of those hospitalized are in serious condition.
Seven firefighters have been hospitalized, too. Zelensky praised the “heroic fight of our firefighting and emergency” crews.
According to the State Emergency Service the fire lasted for four hours, starting at 10:12 a.m. on Dec. 4 and was brought under control by 2:18 p.m. the same day.
The president asked Odesa Oblast and city officials to assist survivors.
The city of Odesa has announced two official days of mourning.
