On the night of June 8, 2015, a fire started at an oil depot in the village of Kriachko, near the Kiev suburb of Vasylkiv, in Ukraine. By 1:00 am the fire has not been extinguished and all attempts to put out the flames have not succeeded.
Rescue workers from the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) have reported that as of that moment the oil is burning outside the tanks, but if a flame enters the tanks a powerful explosion will be triggered.
The methods being used to put out the blaze was ineffective. As was expected, all oil tanks blasted in the morning, causing the death of at least than 10 rescue workers, leaving many others wounded. Rescue staff were forced to leave the spot, but the fire was still on.
Collapsed oil tank released gasoline vapours causing powerful explosion. Firefighters had to draw off leaving some equipment
To rectify consequences of the catastrophe, fire brigades used special heat-reflecting clothing, protecting operators from high temperatures
A rescuer wearing protective outwear hurries to drink water, to get back to the frontline
Fire engineering once on fire, saved by the State Emergency Service personnel
A rescuer applies antipyretic, to help a fireman, suffering burns while extinguishing fire
Smoke caused by burning oil tanks could be easily noticed in a nearby Vasylkov town
Population centre Kryachky was the closest to the accident epicenter
Auxiliary equipment was deployed along the road, leading to the catastrophic centre
Special police forces and the National Guard ensured safety and security along the damaged area perimeter
Patrol helicopter was responsible for surveillance operation to control damaged area expansion
Kyiv mayor Vladymyr Klichko was in a mobile camp of the State Emergency Service near the catastrophe epicenter
The fire quickly spread over majority of the oil tanks, caused by failure to properly observe safety procedures
Last night in the village of Kriachko near the Kyiv suburb of Vasylkiv a fire had started at an oil depot. We offer an exclusive report filed by an EMPR special correspondent with live updates.
By 01:00 a.m. the fire has not been extinguished. All attempts to put out the flames have not succeeded. 4 of the 9 tanks continue to burn. Rescue workers from the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) have reported that as of this moment the oil is burning outside the tanks, but if a flame enters the tanks a powerful explosion will be triggered. The methods being used to put out the blaze are ineffective. Neither water nor the special foam are working given the magnitude of the fire. The only effective way to fight the blaze is to extinguish it from the air. Every emergency rescue workers here knows this, but six hours after the fire started the managers responsible for giving orders and implementing security measures have not give such order.
Liquefied gas is stored close by the storage tanks. If the temperature around the depot rises to critical and taking into account that the flames are not being extinguished another explosion is likely and a humanitarian catastrophe would be assured.
To make matters worse 50 m from the oil tanks is an air base and an ammunition warehouse. This is one of the reasons why it has not been reported to the public. Some of the ammunition has been removed, but most hasn't. The chance that the warehouse will explode is greater than ever.
Most important is that the public has not been informed, security measures are not being implemented, evacuation has not begun. Homes located 200 m from the depot are already engulfed in flames.
Update as of 09:00. New methods were not used to put out the blaze. As was expected, all oil tanks blasted this morning. More than 10 dead among rescue workers, many wounded. Rescue staff were forces to leave the spot, but fire is on.
Public has not been informed so far, evacuation has not begun by the MES & authority. Citizens start evacuation by there own. No one was informed about threat (!).
Update as of 10:00 MES helicopter finnaly were seen over the sky, but with monitoring mission only (!).
Update as of 11:00 Number of casualties among recue workers is very high, but no one counts now as the goal is to stop the fire. Connection with Zhutomyr rescue team, that was close to the blast spot is totally lost.
Evacuation of civilians is not anounced officially, but citizens are reccomended by local police to leave the place.
There is a threat of fire / blast at another depot for oil products as well as at the air base and an ammunition warehouse nearby to current fire zone.
MES helicopters just fly over the spot with monitoring mission with no effort to put out the blaze. An expert says that Ukraine has no specific foam to stop such fire. Those one, which was used is uneffective. Fire is still on...
empr.media-kyiv-blasl-oil-tanks-08.06.15
According to the State Emergency Service fire at the oil depot outside Kyiv started at 17:29 (Kyiv time) on 8 June. Oil depot of "Pobutrembudmaterialy" LLC is located between Glevakha town and Kryachky village approximately 40 km South-West of Kyiv.
9.6.-empr-kryachky-glevakha
Despite firefighting measures undertaken the fire kept spreading. At 8:00 on 9 June oil reservoirs detonated causing a blast, reports the State Emergency Service.
Interior Ministry says 1 person was killed and 14 injured as of 12:00. Unofficial reports say the whole Zhytomyr rescue brigade went missing this morning.
Update as of 15:00 State Emergency Service claims to have started evacuation of civilians from the 2 km zone from the fire line. Evacuation from the 10 km zone is foreseen as the next step. However no signs of centralized evacuation were noticed on the ground. Some locals are evacuating on their own.
BRSM-Nafta company that exploits the oil depot in question issued a statement naming arson (terrorist act) as the main cause of fire.
Interior Ministry says fire continues at 9 reservoirs. Fire extinguishing measures are underway.
Raqqa, Syria
November 12, 2014
At least six people were killed in an airstrike that targeted the northeastern Syrian city of Raqqa.
This video shows a civilian neighborhood in the aftermath of the strike. Rescue workers use sledge hammers and excavation vehicles to remove the rubble and search for survivors amid building that were almost completely destroyed.
Raqqa is considered the capital of the government proclaimed by the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS.
An ISIS fighter appears in the footage, saying that these strikes will neither weaken nor frighten his group.
Local residents said that the Syrian regime carried out this airstrike. Transterra Media could not verify these claims. The regime has repeatedly targeted the city since it lost control over it in March 2013. More recently, an international coalition led by the United States has launched airstrikes against ISIS positions and troops in Iraq and Syria since September 2014.
Shot List
00:00 – 00:13
Wide shots show people walking past a demolished building while sirens could be heard in the background.
00:14 – 00:22
A right traveling shot shows a bulldozer and people running in the street.
00:23 – 00:41
Various shots show rescue workers searching for survivors under the rubble.
00:42 – 00:46
A wide shot shows fire fighters spraying water at a hit building.
00:47 – 01:01
Various shots show rescue workers trying to dig a hole through the wall of a hit building to look for survivors.
01:02 - 01:18
Various traveling shots show excavation vehicles and people on the street near damaged buildings.
01:19 – 01:27 A wide shot shows excavation vehicles lifting rubble from the street.
Interview
01:28 – 01:48
Interview with an ISIS fighter, man, Arabic
“By God, this strike has only given us more strength; I swear by God. I am happy to tell you that, thanks be to God, the Islamic State shall be established with God’s will. “This bombing will not frighten us. God willing, we will all go to heaven.”
Pakistan, Lahore : LAHORE, PAKISTAN - MAY 09: Rescue workers attempt to extinguish a fire and to rescue peope trapped in the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Plaza on May 09, 2013 in Lahore, Pakistan. Rescue work is underway at the site of the fire with fire trucks being used to extinguish the fire and helicopters used to rescue stranded victims from the roof of the building.
A Pakistani man moments before jumping from the fifth floor of a building that caught on fire in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, May 9, 2013. The 13-storey government building caught fire and quickly intensified spreading to three floors of the tall building.
A Pakistani man moments before jumping from the fifth floor of a building that caught on fire in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, May 9, 2013. The 13-storey government building caught fire and quickly intensified spreading to three floors of the tall building.
A man jumps from the fifth floor of a building that caught on fire in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, May 9, 2013. The 13-storey government building caught fire and quickly intensified spreading to three floors of the tall building.
Lahore : A Pakistani army helicopter rescues people from a burning building in Lahore on May 9, 2013. At least three persons fell from the 13-story LDA plaza situated on Lahore’s Edgerton road 9 trying to avoid a fire that engulfed the building.
Lahore : A Pakistani army helicopter rescues people from a burning building in Lahore on May 9, 2013. At least three persons fell from the 13-story Lahore Development Authority plaza situated on Lahore’s Edgerton road 9 trying to avoid a fire that engulfed the building.
A man jumps from a building that caught on fire in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, May 9, 2013. The 13-storey government building caught fire and quickly intensified spreading to three floors of the tall building.
Pakistan, Lahore : LAHORE, PAKISTAN - MAY 09: Rescue workers attempt to extinguish a fire and to rescue peope trapped in the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Plaza on May 09, 2013 in Lahore, Pakistan. Rescue work is underway at the site of the fire with fire trucks being used to extinguish the fire and helicopters used to rescue stranded victims from the roof of the building.
PAKISTAN, Lahore : A Pakistani man climbs a rope to the roof top of a burning building in Lahore on May 9, 2013. At least three persons fell from the 13-story Lahore Development Authority plaza situated on Lahore’s Edgerton road 9 trying to avoid a fire that engulfed the building.
PAKISTAN, Lahore : A Pakistani man climbs a rope to the roof top of a burning building in Lahore on May 9, 2013. At least three persons fell from the 13-story Lahore Development Authority plaza situated on Lahore’s Edgerton road 9 trying to avoid a fire that engulfed the building.
LAHORE, PAKISTAN - MAY 09: A rescued man is consoled as a fire burns at the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Plaza on May 09, 2013 in Lahore, Pakistan. Rescue work is underway at the site of the fire with fire trucks being used to extinguish the fire and helicopters used to rescue stranded victims from the roof of the building.
LAHORE, PAKISTAN - MAY 09: A man is assisted by rescue workers as a fire burns at the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Plaza on May 09, 2013 in Lahore, Pakistan. Rescue work is underway at the site of the fire with fire trucks being used to extinguish the fire and helicopters used to rescue stranded victims from the roof of the building.
People cry as rescue workers try to save victims trapped inside a burning building in central Lahore May 9, 2013. Fire erupted on the seventh floor of the Lahore Development Authority Plaza in Lahore, and quickly spread to higher floors leaving many people trapped inside the building. At least three people fell from the high floors trying to avoid the fire that engulfed the building, local media reports.
LAHORE, PAKISTAN - MAY 09: Rescue workers try to rescue a man trapped on the top floor as a fire burns at the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Plaza on May 09, 2013 in Lahore, Pakistan. Rescue work is underway at the site of the fire with fire trucks being used to extinguish the fire and helicopters used to rescue stranded victims from the roof of the building.