A massive fire has caused explosions of oil tanks at a storage facility near Kiev, killing several firefighters. The inferno is out of control, setting 17 huge tanks ablaze. There are gas storage tanks on the site at risk of detonation.
According to a local TV
channel 1+1, cited by RIA: “There were 180 rescuers at the
facility when the blast occurred. It’s not known how many
survived. Ambulances can hardly manage to cope with transporting
those injured. Rescuers say that gas pipelines run behind the oil
tanks on fire, and they can explode as well.”
“Just like you, we consider the possibility that fire from
the oil depot may spread to the airfield area. The Defense
Ministry and the air command ‘Center’ did all they could to
prevent such a scenario. All special services of the airfiled and
personnel are ready. This is a facility under our special
attention,” Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said.
The disaster at the BRSM-Nafta facility some 20 km southwest of
the Ukrainian capital started Monday night, with one worker
fatally burned in the initial fire. Five others were hospitalized
with serious burns.
The death toll rose Tuesday morning as the fire spread across the
site and caused massive explosions. Several firefighters
responding to the emergency died, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov
said on his Twitter account.
Four firefighters are among the fatalities, TV channel 1+1
reported, citing a source in the emergency services.
Six firefighters are not accounted for, the Interior Ministry has
reported. Six others were injured and taken to the hospital, it
added.
В зоне возгорания еще одна база нефтепродуктов KLO. Все
эвакуированы. Выставляется оцепление. pic.twitter.com/FHIDKFOHNt
— Arsen Avakov (@AvakovArsen) June
9, 2015
Взрыв на нефтебазе под Васильковым. Гигантский. Погибли
пожарные.. СЧС стягивает все, что есть. По тревоге поднята
Нацгвардия. Работаем.
— Arsen Avakov (@AvakovArsen) June
9, 2015
READ MORE: Fire engines, ambulances
ablaze at Ukraine oil depot fire
(VIDEO)
Some 50 fire brigades were called to the site to contain the
blaze, but they were forced to back off. Residents of the nearby town of
Vasilkov and several nearby villages said plumes of black smoke
from the fire polluted the air. According to eyewitness accounts,
the sky over the area is filled with black clouds, and rain,
black from the smoke, was reported in the depot’s vicinity, 112
Ukraina TV channel reported from the scene.
Небо под Киевом почернело из-за пожара на нефтебазе. Вид из
города Васильков
#Киев
#Нефтебаза pic.twitter.com/wr5khgFuGB
— Сегодня.ua (@segodnya_online)
June 9, 2015
The scale of the disaster should prompt an evacuation from the
area, Ukrainian environmentalist Vladimir Boreyko told RIA
Novosti.
“The process is catastrophic. People should be evacuated at
least in a radius of 5 kilometers due to soot and toxic products
from the fire. It’s a serious blow to health and can cause lung
problems and cancer,” he said.
“Then there will be the second phase: acid rain destroying
crops in the fields and forests,” he added.
The facility holds some
15,000 tons of various fuels. It also has several storage tanks
for LNG, which could be detonated by the fire.
Zoryan Shkiryak, an aide
to Interior Minister Avakov, said the cause of the blaze could be
arson or a violation of safety regulations at the
facility.
Also, the fire may have been started by a botched attempt to
steal fuel from a storage tank, UNIAN news agency cited a police
source as saying.