Ukraine Explosion: Ammunition Depot Blast Prompts Mass Evacuation, Rail, Road Transport Suspended

UPDATE: 5.12 a.m. EDT - Deputy commander of the General Staff, Rodyon Tymoshenko, has said the incident began with 4 explosions across the depot.

"The intensity of the blasts suggests that it was most probably sabotage," he said.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman tweeted that emergency services were on the spot to help the evacuated people and they will be provided with accommodation by local authorities.

UPDATE: 2.20 a.m. EDT - According to the general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the intensity of explosions was 2-3 explosions per second. Four more fire tanks are scheduled to arrive at the scene and more than 20 buses of the Ichnyansky District State Administration of Chernihiv are involved in the evacuation. There are no reports of fatalities or injuries as of now. An operational team headed by the chief of the general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is at the site.

Original story:

An explosion in a military warehouse in the Chernihiv region, Ukraine, on early Tuesday, prompted evacuations of thousands of people.

Officials said the explosion rocked a defense ministry ammunition depot 176 km east of the Ukrainian capital Kiev at around 3:30 a.m. local time early Tuesday (8.30 p.m. EDT Monday). The scale of the explosion and the territory it has affected is not known yet, however, an emergency response headquarters has been set up.

First Deputy Interior Minister Serhiy Yarovoy, who is also in charge of the emergency headquarters, said there is no information of casualties at the moment, Rt.com reported.

A statement by the emergency services said “the airspace within a radius of 20 km has been closed. The movement of rail and road transport is suspended."

A total of 220 emergency staffers and 60 technical units were sent to the scene. According to reports, Prime Minister Vladimir Groisman has also flown down to the scene.