Fire in Odesa: rescuers continue searching for people under the rubble

Two deaths are already known, 14 people are considered missing, but there are probably no survivors left in the building.

More than 200 people continue to clear the rubble of the building in Odesa where a major fire broke out on Wednesday, December 4.

By December 6, rescuers had dismantled the upper part of the structure, and an expert group measured the building's vibration levels and stability, the State Emergency Service reported. Now debris is being cleared on the 2nd floor and in the arched passage. Firefighters still encounter isolated smoldering spots.

As of today, it is known that two people died as a result of the fire: at 12:20 on December 4, 16-year-old College of Economics, Law and Hotel and Restaurant Business student Kseniya Babenko died in hospital, and at 17:40 on December 5, during search operations, the body of college lecturer Anna Bortyuk, born in 1976, was found.

In total, at least 30 people were injured in the fire, with more than 20 still in hospital.

The fate of at least 14 people remains officially unknown. The Odesa outlet Dumskaya reports that today 18-year-old Anastasia Vasilyan, who had been missing, was located. The young woman is safe: she studied at this college, but is no longer a student there, and at the time of the fire she was somewhere else.

Deputy head of the regional State Emergency Service department Oleksandr Kritskiy told the outlet that there is no longer any hope of finding survivors in the building.

"All premises that were not damaged by the fire have been inspected. There are no people there," Kritskiy added.

The fire in the six-story building at the corner of Pushkinska and Troitska streets in Odesa began on the morning of Wednesday, December 4. The building, constructed in 1914, is known as the Asvadurov rental house and is one of the largest pre-revolutionary structures in Odesa. In recent times, several companies and institutions were located there, including the Institute of Marine Biology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Odesa branch of the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and the Odesa College of Economics, Law and Hotel and Restaurant Business.

Police have opened an investigation under Part 2, Article 270 of the Criminal Code, which concerns violations of fire safety requirements established by law.

"Police are currently considering two versions: a fire caused by faulty electrical wiring and deliberate arson," said Oleh Bekh, head of the Odesa police.

After the fire, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and local authorities to check fire safety measures at establishments, institutions and organizations where large crowds gather, as well as the work of all officials who issue conclusions on the fire safety status of facilities.