 |
| Rescuers in Bilohorivka. (Photo by Serhiy Haidai) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] Dozens of people are feared dead after a bomb hit a school in east Ukraine, where government forces are battling Russian troops and separatists. Luhansk region's governor, Serhiy Haidai, confirmed two deaths, saying 60 people were feared dead under the rubble of the school in Bilohorivka, BBC reported.
About 90 people had been sheltering in the building and 30 were rescued, seven of them wounded, he added. Mr Haidai said a Russian plane had dropped the bomb on Saturday.
His accusation could not be verified independently and there was no immediate response from Russia. Luhansk has seen fierce combat as Russian troops and separatist fighters seek to surround government forces, just over two months since the start of the Russian invasion. Bilohorivka is close to the government-held city of Severodonetsk, where heavy fighting was reported in the suburbs on Saturday. One Ukrainian newspaper, Ukrayinska Pravda, says the village became a "hot spot" during fighting last week.
The blast brought down the building which caught fire and it took firefighters three hours to extinguish the blaze, according to the governor, writing on Telegram. He said almost the entire village had been sheltering in the basement of the school. The final death toll would only be known when the rubble had been cleared, the governor said.
