<p class="title">Some 12,000 people were evacuated after a fire and a series of explosions at an arms depot containing thousands of tonnes of ammunition in the north of Ukraine early Tuesday, authorities said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Emergency services said they had no information on any deaths or injuries in the incident near the town of Ichnya, more than 170 kilometres from Kiev.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The fire and explosions began around 3:30 am at the defence ministry's depot No 6, which is spread over about 700 hectares (1,700 acres), the emergency services said in a statement. The size of the area affected was not known.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Emergency services said in a statement that "there are approximately 88,000 tonnes of ammunition in the stores."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Video posted on the emergency services website showed smoke rising up to regular thudding sounds of explosions.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Almost 12,000 people were evacuated from the area at risk, including the inhabitants of 38 villages, regional authorities said, while gas and electricity were cut off to prevent accidents.</p>.<p class="bodytext">President Petro Poroshenko called a meeting of the heads of security forces and promised to give residents all the necessary help, his spokesman wrote on Facebook.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman travelled to the scene and chaired a meeting of emergency services officials.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Authorities closed the airspace in a 30-kilometre radius around the site, as well as rail and road traffic as more than a hundred firefighters worked at the scene.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Military prosecutors opened a probe into possible negligence by officials, Interfax Ukraine news agency reported.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Stockpiles of outdated ammunition dating back to the Soviet era often cause fires and explosions in Ukraine and Russia.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It was the sixth major fire in three years at an arms depot of the Ukrainian army, which has been fighting pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country since 2014 in a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In March 2017, a huge fire set off explosions at a depot in the town of Balakliya in the Kiev-controlled part of eastern Ukraine, killing one person and injuring five others.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Ukrainian authorities blamed that incident on an "act of sabotage". </p>
<p class="title">Some 12,000 people were evacuated after a fire and a series of explosions at an arms depot containing thousands of tonnes of ammunition in the north of Ukraine early Tuesday, authorities said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Emergency services said they had no information on any deaths or injuries in the incident near the town of Ichnya, more than 170 kilometres from Kiev.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The fire and explosions began around 3:30 am at the defence ministry's depot No 6, which is spread over about 700 hectares (1,700 acres), the emergency services said in a statement. The size of the area affected was not known.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Emergency services said in a statement that "there are approximately 88,000 tonnes of ammunition in the stores."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Video posted on the emergency services website showed smoke rising up to regular thudding sounds of explosions.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Almost 12,000 people were evacuated from the area at risk, including the inhabitants of 38 villages, regional authorities said, while gas and electricity were cut off to prevent accidents.</p>.<p class="bodytext">President Petro Poroshenko called a meeting of the heads of security forces and promised to give residents all the necessary help, his spokesman wrote on Facebook.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman travelled to the scene and chaired a meeting of emergency services officials.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Authorities closed the airspace in a 30-kilometre radius around the site, as well as rail and road traffic as more than a hundred firefighters worked at the scene.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Military prosecutors opened a probe into possible negligence by officials, Interfax Ukraine news agency reported.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Stockpiles of outdated ammunition dating back to the Soviet era often cause fires and explosions in Ukraine and Russia.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It was the sixth major fire in three years at an arms depot of the Ukrainian army, which has been fighting pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country since 2014 in a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In March 2017, a huge fire set off explosions at a depot in the town of Balakliya in the Kiev-controlled part of eastern Ukraine, killing one person and injuring five others.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Ukrainian authorities blamed that incident on an "act of sabotage". </p>