Kharkiv: At least 15 people have been killed and 11 injured after a blaze tore through a residential home for the elderly in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
The fire broke out on Thursday afternoon in the two-storey building and spread to cover about 100 square metres.
The emergency service published a photo of the building with bars on the windows of the first floor.
Smoke could be seen coming from the broken windows of the second floor.
“According to preliminary information, 33 people were in the building at the time of the fire and 15 of them died,” according to a service’s statement.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the death toll of 15 reported by emergency services, adding: “We all pray that there will be no more.”
It was not clear in the immediate aftermath of the fire how many of the survivors were taken to nearby medical facilities for treatment.
The emergency services reported nine people had been admitted to nearby hospitals while Prosecutor General Iryna Venedyktova said 11 people were injured.
