Death toll from Russian strike on Kharkiv hypermarket could be 18, says prosecutor's office – photos
The number of casualties from the Russian strike on the Epicentr hypermarket in Kharkiv may reach 18 people as of the morning of 27 May. The prosecutor's office relies on data about the bodies of those identified, those whose identities have not yet been established, body fragments, and statements from relatives about missing persons.
Source: Dmytro Chubenko, a spokesperson for Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office; Yuliia Chudnovets, Communications Manager at Epicentr K, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda; State Emergency Service of Ukraine on Telegram; Serhii Bolvinov, Head of the Kharkiv Oblast Police Investigative Department, on Facebook; Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor’s Office on Telegram
Quote from Chubenko: "The death toll has now risen to 16. A total of 45 people have been injured. Five people remain missing. 16 are the 16 bodies of different people. This is our latest accurate information. 13 of them have been identified. We had seven reports of missing persons. Now, there are five missing persons. Sadly, two of these missing persons have been reported killed.
Additionally, there are body fragments, but it is unclear whether they belong to one person or several, so we are not stating a specific number of fatalities.
Therefore, the likely number of fatalities at the moment is 18 individuals. This includes the 13 identified individuals plus the five reported missing."
More updates on this topic: Death toll from Russian attack on Kharkiv hypermarket rises to 18
Details: Chubenko explained that the search and identification of bodies or their fragments are complicated by the explosion, the intense fire and the large area affected by the fire.
"The search for bodies is very difficult because some bodies were torn into fragments after the explosion; there were collapses of walls and ceilings; the fire was very extensive; the situation is very complex. Also, after conflagrations, very small fragments remain, and it is difficult to understand exactly what these fragments are. Therefore, the search for traces of the people’s presence is currently ongoing," Chubenko explained.
He added that theoretically, even the complete disappearance of a person is possible after such intense fires.
The spokesperson for the prosecutor's office also did not rule out the possibility that the number of casualties could be higher.
"The search process is ongoing. Theoretically, there could have been people in the store whose relatives are unaware that they were in this hypermarket, or their relatives may have left and are abroad, so they do not know anything about those who remained here (and accordingly did not file missing persons reports). We are checking the cameras. There were 20 people at the explosion site. What happened to them is currently unknown because the cameras were turned off after the explosion. Perhaps they were in a state of shock but managed to quickly leave; maybe they are among the wounded; or maybe they left in a shocked state with minor injuries and went home without reporting it," Chubenko explained.
He added that, in order to assist with the identification of individuals, the prosecutor's office has posted videos from surveillance cameras without faces blurred. Law enforcement officials hope that someone may recognise their relatives or friends and can report to the 102 hotline if the identified person does not respond.
Epicentr K Communications Manager Yuliia Chudnovets reported that they currently know about two employees of the store being killed, and another 12 are not in contact.
"We currently have officially two employees killed and eight who are not in contact. Also, four of our promoters are not in contact. Unfortunately, we do not have any other information at the moment," Chudnovets said.
As of the morning of 27 May, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported 15 people killed in a Russian strike on a home improvement store and 44 injured. The same figure is given by Serhii Bolvinov, Head of the Kharkiv Oblast Police Investigative Department.
The day before, Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, said that 16 people were killed in the attack on the Epicentr hypermarket in Kharkiv on 25 May, including a 12-year-old girl.
Quote from Bolvinov: "Last night, another body was found at the site of the lighting sales department. The death toll is now 15. The work in the laboratory continues; during the night, experts were able to identify two more bodies. At the same time, the search continues; unfortunately, there may still be bodies in the hypermarket."
The State Emergency Service reports that, as of Monday morning, emergency workers had cleared about 30% of the rubble.
"We have to suspend work during air-raid warnings. This is not the first time the occupier has used double-tap strike tactics. Emergency workers continue to clear the rubble and search for bodies and the remains of the deceased. Psychologists of the State Emergency Service are providing assistance to the relatives of the deceased and the survivors," the service summed up.
This news has been updated since publication.
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