Three dead in Ukraine hospital explosion

Jan 18, 2010, 14:02 GMT

Kiev - Three people were killed in an explosion at a hospital in eastern Ukraine on Monday, the emergency ministry said.

It was not clear how many people were injured in the blast at the hospital in the city of Luhansk that was believed to have been caused by the accidental denotation of a gas cylinder, according to the ministry.

Initial official reports placed the casualty count at five persons.

Rescue workers were searching through rubble on four floors of the five-storey Luhansk Hospital Number 7 for at least seven people still thought to be trapped, according to news reports.

The powerful explosion destroyed an intensive care unit, blowing out a four metre by six metre section of exterior brick wall on the fourth floor of the building, and collapsing the adjacent roof and three reinforced concrete floors below the blast.

Debris from demolished walls and floors extended dozens of metres from the explosion centre, according to MES reports.

Three survivors reached by rescue workers were receiving treatment for injuries, the Interfax news agency reported.

As many as 22 persons could have been in the room at the epicentre of the blast, said Yury Arefev, a Luhansk regional official.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was planning to fly to Luhansk on Monday.