DPR reports evacuation of about 300 Mariupol residents in past 24 hours

DONETSK. March 17 (Interfax) - A total of 295 people, including children, have been evacuated from Mariupol over the past day, the territorial defense headquarters of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said.

"Over the past day, from 8 a.m. on March 16 till 8 a.m. on March 17, there were 295 people, including 66 children, evacuated from Mariupol and suburbs to Bezmenne in the Novoazovsk district," the headquarters said on Thursday.

A total of 1,614 people were evacuated from Mariupol between March 5 and 17, it said.

Mariupol, a city with a 400,000-plus population, is located on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, it is one of the biggest commercial seaports in Ukraine.