Explosion In Residential Building On Shevchenko Boulevard, Minsk

Six people died, including a child.

Today, in the middle of the night, an explosion and a strong fire occurred in a residential building on Shevchenko Boulevard in Minsk. The Investigatory Committee and the Ministry of Emergency Situations declared the death of 6 people, including one child.

The tragedy happened around 03:30 am. House number 4 on Shevchenko Boulevard was burning. The call to the Ministry of Emergency Situations came from eyewitnesses: they reported an explosion and a fire in the apartment. The first rescuers were on site in 4 minutes.

"On the second floor, there was an open flame burning, heavy smoke, people from the windows of the apartments above were asking for help," the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported. "During the reconnaissance, it was found that on the second floor of a five-story residential building there was a fire in two apartments on a total area of about 40 square meters."

Employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations rescued 12 people, including 3 children. Doctors hospitalized 3 people with a preliminary diagnosis of "poisoning by combustion products, thermal inhalation injury, burns." Another 10 people were also evacuated from neighboring apartments.

"At the scene of the fire, 6 people were found in burning apartments, including a child. The doctors pronounced them dead. The cause and circumstances of the incident are being established," the Ministry of Emergency Situations added.

Shevchenko Boulevard is located northwest of the center of Minsk, behind the Kamarouka market and Starazhouka, built up mostly with the Khrushchev-era apartment blocks.

This incident is one of the most tragic of the kind in the history of Belarus.