A firefighter works at the scene of an accident, after the fire occurred in a municipal psychiatric clinic in the Black Sea port of Odessa. — Reuters photo
ODESSA, Ukraine: Six people died when fire swept through a psychiatric hospital for war veterans in the Ukrainian city of Odessa, authorities said.
The fire erupted late Monday evening in the one-storey building, Ukraine’s emergency services said in a statement.
“Six people died and four have been hospitalised,” the statement said. Nine other people escaped unharmed.
The facility provided mental health care for veterans of the Soviet Union’s 1980s war in Afghanistan and World War II.
Police and emergency services did not immediately comment on whether the fire was started deliberately, but said it did not appear to have originated inside the building.
Paramedics continued to search the hospital after the fire had been extinguished, looking for any patients who could have been left behind.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he regretted the “terrible tragedy” and ordered Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman to set up a committee to investigate.
“The reasons (for the fire) will be established. I present my condolences to the families of the victims,” he said on Twitter. – AFP