Fire kills 17 at temporary home for elderly people in Ukraine

At least 17 people have been killed in a fire at a temporary home for elderly people in a village in Ukraine. The blaze broke out at the residential property in Litochky, 23 miles northeast of the capital Kiev. Ukraine’s emergency services ministry said the fire had started in the early hours of Sunday morning in a privately-owned two-storey building that was temporarily housing 35 people. Around 150 firefighters were called to the fire, according to an emergency services Facebook post, but the blaze was brought under control by Sunday morning.

Emergency services units saved 18 people, five of whom have been hospitalised with burns of varying degrees of severity.

Ukraine’s emergency services ministry

Photos of the aftermath show the building completely gutted, with workers sifting through twisted metal in the smouldering interior. Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine’s president, has been informed and Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has set up a special commission to investigate. A government statement said Mr Groysman had sent his condolences to the families of those who died in the “terrible tragedy”.

ukraine fire