[ad_1]
KIEV (Reuters) – About 10,000 people were evacuated after a fire and explosions hit a Ministry of Defense ammunition depot 176km east of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev on Tuesday. morning, officials said.
No casualties were reported and it was not possible to immediately determine whether the explosions were an accident or sabotage.
The airspace within a radius of 20 km has been closed and road and rail transport suspended. Hundreds of people were deployed to the site, according to a statement from the emergency services, and the head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces went there.
Several major fires in ammunition and weapons depots in recent years have been an additional drain on the Ukrainian military, which has been fighting Russia-backed separatists in eastern parts of the country since 2014.
"About 10,000 people have been evacuated," the emergency services release said. "From 04:22 (012 GMT), the airspace within a radius of 20 km was closed. Rail and road transport is suspended. "
Last year, massive explosions in a military depot in the Vynnytsya region, 270 km west of Kiev, forced authorities to evacuate 24,000 people.
Report by Natalia Zinets; written by Matthias Williams; Edited by Darren Schuettler and Michael Perry
