Post Staff Writer
 Firefighters in Donetsk battle a blaze that began after an explosion ripped through a nine-storey apartment block Feb. 14, killing three. (UNIAN photo) |
Gas leaks are being blamed as the cause of two explosions in two Ukrainian cities, which killed at least three people and injured 24 others last weekend. First, on Feb. 14, an explosion and subsequent fire at 5:30 a.m. killed three people in a Donetsk apartment building. Six others were taken to a local hospital with various injuries. On Feb. 14 a spokesperson for the Ministry of Internal Affairs said more victims may be pulled out of the wrecked building as the damage is cleaned up. |
Then, late on Feb. 15, another explosion occurred in a building in the southwestern Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi. The blast in that building, which is occupied by a club for retired military officers, injured 18 people, sending 10 to hospital, four of them with serious injuries. Two of the injured were members of the militia who were on duty near the officers� club at the time. The exact status of their health is not known.
UNIAN reported that most of the injured were people who had been waiting for a streetcar nearby and were strafed with shards of glass scattered by the force of the blast.
The Donetsk explosion occurred on the main floor of the nine-storey residence, damaging 34 flats. The building itself was damaged beyond repair after a fire engulfed the first three floors. Sources said that the blast originated either in a flat or in a gastronome.
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych visited the scene and promised to help the surviving victims, ICTV reported.
The blast made 195 residents of the building homeless. Some are staying with relatives, while others are staying at Miner�s Star, a resort in the city.
Police at the scene said preliminary investigations indicated that a gas leak caused the explosion.
The explosion in Chernivtsi originated in a grocery store on the first floor of a block of apartments, destroying more than 450 square meters of the Kolos gastronome, UNIAN reported. Emergency Ministry officials said the explosion could have been caused by a gas leak, but they did not rule out �an act of sabotage,� ITAR-TASS reported.
Ihor Kibich, owner of the gastronome, said the blast had caused at least Hr 2 million ($375,000) in damage to his store. Kibich, who also sells food products across the country under the brand Chernivetski Kovbasy, said he would not be surprised if this was the work of business rivals, though he could not be sure.
According to specialists from the oblast gas company, Chernivtsigaz, the blast had the strength of a half kilo of dynamite. The explosion blew out the windows of buildings, streetcars and automobiles within a 100 meter radius. Items from the store were strewn �tens of meters away.�
The five-storey complex was badly damaged, and a commission has been set up to evaluate whether the building can be repaired or must be torn down.
Explosions due to gas leaks are common in former Soviet republics like Ukraine, where maintenance work is sometimes shoddy and unsupervised.
If indeed the blasts are found to be the result of gas leaks, both incidents may serve as reminders to citizens to promptly report such leaks in a country where aging gas ovens are still in use everywhere.
People in Ukraine are encouraged to dial 04 any time they smell natural gas in their apartments or suspect a problem with the gas lines.