In Odessa, people did not allow fire trucks to approach the burning House of Trade Unions, - State Emergency Service
Odessa, May 14 (Navigator, Victoria Litovchenko) – The head of the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service in the Odessa region, Vladimir Bodelan, said that rescue vehicles could not get to the burning House of Trade Unions, which was why time was lost.
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“The fire on the first two floors happened literally in a matter of seconds, after which there was some kind of roar, and it was clear that after that the fire immediately went out. And at that same second, several people appeared on the ground and fell out of the building. Most of them were alive. And literally after a few tens of meters they fell unconscious,” Bodelan wrote on his Facebook page.
“I am sure that 99,9% of people died in the House of Trade Unions in a matter of seconds, and did not suffocate from smoke or suffocate from fire. But that's what forensic experts are for. Even before the smoke in the rooms with carbon monoxide began, I noticed how people were leaning out of the windows of houses trying to breathe fresh air. Why it was so difficult for them to breathe, I cannot answer, but I am 100% sure that it was definitely not smoke from a fire,” he added.
“I tried to find the police to organize the safe work of rescuers, because a fire started near the main entrance. As soon as I noticed that several burning tires had been thrown on sticks into the lobby of the building, I gave the command for our units to leave. It was at 19:58,” said the rescuer.
“A crowd of thousands did not allow a fire truck to pass for quite a long time. The worst thing about this situation is that firefighters could not begin to extinguish the fire due to the shooting and resistance of the attackers,” Bodelan wrote.
“During our negotiations with those who detained us, one car nevertheless made its way to the building from the rear side and the unit began to fight the fire and began rescuing people. At 20:09, the unit began evacuating people and putting out the fire,” Timer quoted the rescuer as saying.
As Navigator reported, during the riots and fire in the House of Trade Unions in the center of Odessa on May 2, 47 people were killed and more than 200 were injured.
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