Kiev: Fire at oil Depot following a huge blast is reported from the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
Emergency crews are battling to put down the flame to avoid further devastation.
As per the official report, at least eight petrol storage tanks, having a total capacity of up
to 900 cubic meters (32,000 cu ft), are in ablaze.
Reports said that there were huge tower of smoke and flames rising into the sky from the
Fuel storage location .
The rescuers and firefighters were forced to run away from their equipments as they were engulfed in flames.
Within a minute, there occurred a huge blast covering the whole area with plumes of smoke.
During the blast an ambulance and a fire engine are said to have gone ablaze.
According to Ukraine’s Emergency Ministry, the fire has destroyed some 10 vehicles which had been in use for putting down the blaze.
He added that the massive fire which caused explosions of oil tanks at a storage facility near Kiev, had killed several firefighters.
Later, the inferno became out of control, setting 17 huge tanks ablaze. There are also gas storage tanks on the site at risk of detonation.
Reports said that there were 180 rescuers at the facility when the blast occurred.
It’s not known how many of them survived. Ambulances can hardly manage to cope with the transporting of those injured.
Rescuers said that the gas pipelines which run behind the oil tanks on fire, could also be exploded as well.
During the initial fire one worker was fatally burned while five others were hospitalized with serious burns.
Video on the Ukraine blast and ablaze
