Heavy Explosion at Ukrainian Ammunition Depot Caused Evacuation of Thousands

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A massive fire triggered a series of heavy explosions at an ammunition depot in central Ukraine. It caused evacuation of more than 30 thousand people. The Prime Minister of the country mentioned that external factors might be involved in the explosions. This incident happened on Wednesday morning near the town of Kalynivka. It is situated about 190 km (120 miles) from the capital, Kiev. A military base near the ammunition depot caught fire during night and the officials immediately cut off the electricity and gas supply of the facility. The explosions destructed more than 4 nearby residential buildings and at least 2 people were reported injured, but authorities didn’t report any casualty. Photos and videos of explosions have indicated a heavy fireball erupting from behind a forest wall.

Tank shells and rocket artillery can also be seen bursting from the incident place and flying randomly in various directions. The authorities have closed the airspace around the incident place and train traffic was diverted. Local media reported that at least 188 thousand tons of munitions were kept in the warehouse, including multiple grenade launchers and rockets. The authorities have initiated investigation regarding the incident. The President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko also called an emergency meeting of top officials in the country to discuss about the incident. The Unian news reported that a spokesperson for Ukrainian Security Service said that the fire is now under control, but didn’t provide further details. This incident comes just after 7 months when a similar incident happened in Balakliya near Kharkiv, Ukraine.