Main sources of fire at former arsenal in Balakliya contained

10:05, 04.05.2018 1 min read

Firefighting teams of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the State Emergency Service have managed to contain the main sources of the fire in Balakliya in Kharkiv region.

"As of 19:30 [...] the main sources of fire have been contained. In some parts, the firefighting effort continues," the Defense Ministry said in a statement on its website on Thursday, May 3.

There has been a marked decrease in the area covered by smoke and flames, it said.

No one was hurt, a regional police spokesperson said.

"There have been no injuries as a result of the incident. No damage to local infrastructure has been recorded," the spokesperson said.

Dry grass caught fire at the former artillery depot operated by military unit A1352 while servicemen were scrapping dud shells, the press service of the Ukrainian General Staff said in a statement on Facebook.

"At 13:35 today, on May 3, dry grass caught fire on the former premises of the 65th depot in Balakliya in Kharkiv region, which was being cleaned up and cleared of dud munitions that did not explode during last year's emergency," the statement said.