17 killed in fire at care home in Ukraine

At least 17 people died after a fire broke out on Sunday at an unlicensed home for the elderly near the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, officials said.

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Gennady Zubko has ordered an inspection of all residential homes for the aged in the wake of the tragedy, while Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman tasked officials with creating a special commission to look into the incident.

Ukrainian officials said 18 people were rescued and five of them were hospitalized after suffering burns in the fire. The blaze occurred at a two-storey shelter in Litochky, some 50km north of Kiev.

“The bodies of 17 people have been found at the site of the fire,” the head of Ukraine's state emergencies service, Mykola Chechotkin, said in comments released by his office on Sunday.

“The fire broke out at a privately-owned house,” he told reporters, saying the shelter for the elderly had been set up in violation of existing legislation.

Citing preliminary information, the service said that 35 people were at the home when the fire broke out.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze but according to one version it might have been sparked by an exploding TV set.

The owner of the facility in Litichki village, about 45 kilometres northeast of central Kiev, has been detained, Kiev regional police said in a statement.

Police have opened an investigation against him for fire safety violations. If found guilty, he could face three to eight years in prison, police said.

The emergency services said in a statement that more than 150 people worked to rescue the residents and put out the fire, which began shortly before 4 am local time.

More than 150 rescuers were involved in the operation, eventually putting out the fire nearly five hours after the emergency call.

Images from the scene showed the exterior of the building badly burned, and the interior gutted by the blaze.