Published on Sep 27, 2017
Massive explosions and a blaze at a military ammunition depot in The Former Soviet republic of the Ukraine have forced authorities to evacuate 30,000 people and close airspace over the region, officials have said.
The blasts occurred late on Tuesday local time at a military base near Kalynivka in the Vynnytsya region, 270 kilometres west of Kiev, Ukrainian emergencies service said in a statement.
Four residential buildings were damaged by the fire and one person was injured, but no casualties had been reported.
The military said rescue teams were evacuating nearby villages in the region, bussing more than 30,000 people out of the area.
Arriving in the region hours later, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said "external factors" were behind the incident.
Authorities said they turned off the electricity and gas supply to the town.
Social media users reported hearing loud explosions as far away as the capital Kiev.
Local media said the explosion was the fourth ammunition depot explosion in the past two years.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
