WWII-era mine found at site of fire in Rostov-on-Don
ROSTOV-ON-DON. Aug 22 (Interfax) - Teams involved in clearing up debris in the wake of a fire in the Russian southern city of Rostov-on-Don have found a World War II-era mine at the site, Valery Sinkov, head of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry's Rostov region branch, said at a meeting of the regional government.
"A WWII-era mine has been spotted at the debris-strewn site. A request to defuse it has been submitted," Sinkov said.
Russian Defense Ministry specialists will carry out this operation on Tuesday, he said.
More than 700 people, among them 328 firefighters, and 66 units of equipment were working overnight to clear up the debris.
"We received 111 requests from citizens via the phone hotline. Psychologists have been helping them," Sinkov said.
According to the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry, a fire broke out in Rostov-on-Don's private housing district at 12:52 p.m. Moscow time, destroying more than 100 houses over an area of 10,000 square meters. The blaze has now been put out, water is being poured over the site and a cleanup effort is ongoing. A total of 650 people were evacuated from the fire-stricken area.
Fifty-eight people have sought medical aid. Nine of them have been admitted to hospital.
