A major fire broke out on Saturday after an oil pipeline ruptured in western Ukraine, in which, according to authorities, nine people were injured, five of them seriously.
The incident caused an oil leak over an area of 100 m2 before the fire was brought under control.
“At 5 o’clock in the afternoon. [10 h 00 ET]near the village of Strymba, in the Nadvirna district, an oil pipeline [de 150 millimètres de diamètre] has disintegrated,” said the National Emergency Service of Ukraine.
A fire then broke out for unknown reasons and local media reported a violent explosion.
“Nine people were injured,” said the region’s governor, Svetlana Onyshchuk. “According to preliminary information, two children and three adults are in critical condition with multiple burns,” she added.
Images posted on social media, the authenticity of which AFP could not verify, showed thick clouds of black smoke over what appeared to be a village.
The site of the fire is hundreds of kilometers away from the fighting with Russian forces in the east of the country.