Man blown up by mine on beach in Odesa region
ALONA MAZURENKO — FRIDAY, 15 JULY 2022, 18:44
A man who decided to go for a swim in the sea was blown up on a beach in Odesa Oblast on 15 July.
Source: Serhii Bratchuk, spokesman for the Odesa Military Administration
Quote: "On one of the beaches of Odesa, a young man was blown up by a mine on his birthday. Going against all the prohibitions and requests, he had gone swimming. His head was blown off."
Details: Maksym Marchenko, the head of the Odesa Oblast Military Administration, later added that the tragedy happened in Zatoka [a settlement near Odesa].
Bratchuk urged local people not to ignore air-raid warnings and to refrain from visiting the beaches this summer.
He noted that not only are there mines on the beaches, the Russian occupiers could also launch missiles. If they did, a crowd of people might be hit, or people could be injured by fragments of downed Russian missiles.
Details: Pivden [South] Operational Command reports that stormy conditions in the sea increase the danger posed by mines, because mines that have been torn from their fastenings can be washed up near the coast.
Background:
- At the end of June, Hennadii Trukhanov, the mayor of Odesa, promised to open a section of the beaches for swimming and recreation after installing special nets.
- A visitor died on the beach in Hrybivka, in Odesa Oblast, when a mine exploded in the water.
- On 5 July, the Odesa Oblast Military Administration and Odesa City Council decided not to open the region's beaches during the summer season due to the danger of Russian missile strikes on crowds of people on the beaches.