17 die in Ukraine’s elderly home fire

Seventeen persons died when a makeshift home for the elderly outside the Ukrainian capital Kiev caught fire on Sunday

The fire tore through the temporary two-storey shelter for the elderly which was located in Litochky village, 50 km from Kiev

Citing preliminary information, the state emergencies service said 35 persons were at the shelter when the fire broke out. Eighteen have been rescued and five of them have been hospitalised

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has been notified of the blaze, the government said, adding Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman had tasked officials with creating a special commission to look into the fire AFP