Conflicts & War

At least 130 survivors in bombed Mariupol theater sheltering civilians

Odesa, Ukraine, Mar 18 (EFE).- At least 130 civilians taking shelter in a theater in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol that was bombed by Russia have been rescued from the rubble, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Lyudmyla Denisova, said Friday.

“At this hour, we know that 130 people have been evacuated but, according to our data, more than 1,300 people were in the bomb shelter,” Denisova said.

The state of the other over 1,000 civilians taking shelter in the theater remains unknown, the human rights commissioner said.

“We pray that they are all alive, but at the moment we do not have information about them,” she said.

Russian troops on Wednesday shelled the theater that had served as a shelter for people living in the city on the Sea of Azov.

But the heavy shelling in the city had prevented emergency and relief services from accessing the ruins of the theater.

Mariupol, in the pro-Russian region of Donetsk, has been under siege by Russian troops since the invasion of the country began on February 24.

Authorities say the city is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe, as it is running out of water, medicine and basic foodstuffs, as well as gas and electricity. EFE

int-rml/mp/jp/ks

Related Articles

Back to top button