Blast at Ukraine arms depot

KIEV: Buildings near the ammunition depot were destroyed, but there were no reports of fatalities. — Reuters

KIEV, Sept 28 (Al Jazeera): More than 30,000 people have been evacuated in Ukraine's central Vinnytsia region after a huge arms depot storing missiles caught fire and exploded, in what authorities said was a possible act of "sabotage".

The fire, near the town of Kalynivka, about 200km south-west of Kiev, injured two people, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said in a statement on Wednesday. There were no reports of any fatalities.

More than 180,000 tonnes of munitions were believed to have been stored at the depot, including projectiles for various rocket-launch systems alongside ageing Cold War-era munitions.

"People suffered heavy damage," a local resident who gave just the name Antonina told AFP news agency. "Some homes had their windows and doors completely blown out," she said.

The flames caused artillery shells at the facility to explode one after the other in spectacular but harrowing orange balls of fire that lit up the night sky and shook the ground.

Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman called for a thorough investigation into the incident, as he assured the public that the blaze had been brought under control.

"This is the arsenal of the Ukrainian army, and I think it was no accident that it was destroyed," Groysman said.

"We need to make sure that the guilty are held responsible."