One woman killed, another injured as a result of explosions in warehouses of ammunition storage, located near the Ukrainian town of Balakleya of Kharkov region of Ukraine. On Friday, March 24, reported on the meeting of the Verkhovna Rada, the head of the state emergency service of Ukraine Mykola Chechetkin, reports channel “112 Ukraine”. According to him, the body of the deceased was discovered under the rubble of destroyed houses a shell exploded near warehouses.
“Late in the evening (23 March) the survey of the housing sector under the destroyed structure of the house found the deceased woman in 1951” – said Chechetkin. “According to the Ministry of health, the result of shell hit to the house received a shrapnel wound to the head, the woman 1962 year of birth”, – he added.
As later reported, the Deputy Minister of defence of Ukraine armament, Igor Pavlovsky, the fire at the ammunition depots localized, the military started to liquidate the consequences of emergencies.
“In the morning conducted aerial and ground reconnaissance. According to their results it can be concluded that the localization step is completed, and we, the military, proceed to the stage of liquidation of negative consequences”, – quotes its words a press-service of military Department.
Currently, the site of the explosions and fire works machinery, including six firefighters and two tanks engineering vehicles of differentiation. Adjacent to the military part of the territory of the task performed six groups of clearance, and in the city of mobile brigade on duty military physicians.
“Everything is going quietly, without a fuss”: the residents of Blakley return home
According to the Chairman of Balakleya district state administration Stepan Masalkova, which quotes the press service of the defense Ministry, morning the residents of Blakley began to return to the city. “Very well, that everything goes quietly, without fuss, and we have worked out cooperation with the military”, – he stressed.
According to preliminary data, the shelling, and the fire destroyed 12 private commercial buildings. The blast and shrapnel ammunition is partially damaged the roof and Windows in multi-storey and private houses, secondary school, railway station, dairy factory and other facilities, located near the Arsenal.
Divisions of gschs per day 74 defused UXO and fragments of munitions in the territory of Balakley, eliminated 15 fires which have arisen as a result of hit of ammunition, reported on the meeting of Parliament Mykola Chechetkin. He recalled that earlier of the ten-kilometer zone were evacuated about 20 thousand inhabitants. Just to eliminate the consequences of emergency situations attracted more than 1.3 thousand people and 230 units of equipment.
Explosions at a military depot in Balaklavska district began early in the morning on March 23. As reported by the chief military Prosecutor of Ukraine Anatoly Matios, the fire and subsequent detonation of ammunition was recorded at several sites storage of rocket artillery weapons. Exploded tank and artillery shells of caliber of 125 mm and 152 mm. According to media reports, in the warehouses to the state of emergency was kept 125 thousand tons of ammunition.
Now over the danger zone no-fly, restricted movement on the roads, in the district there is no gas and light. The security service of Ukraine qualified the incident as a diversion. They quoted witnesses who said that he heard the roar of a flying machine and saw he dropped something to the warehouse.
The Minister of defence of Ukraine Stepan Poltorak directly accused the state of emergency in Russia. Primarily, this can be persons who help terrorist groups carry out combat missions, said the head of the military Department. He also did not rule out involvement in the incident representatives of “terrorist groups” from the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics. One of the versions of the causes of explosions, sabotage, which could make resetting the explosive device with the drone, said Poltorak.
On the site of the explosion and fire at the warehouses visited Prime Minister Vladimir Groisman. President Petro Poroshenko has instructed all regions to help Balakliya with construction materials, diesel fuel and products. On Friday, the head of state ordered the military counterintelligence and military Prosecutor’s office to investigate the explosions and fire at the ammunition depots in the Kharkiv region, but also occurred on the eve of the murder of former state Duma Deputy, Denis Boronenkov and the murder of the Russian journalist Pavel Sheremet in July last year.