'We pray they will be alive': Fears remain for 'more than 1,300 people' in ruins of bombed theatre in Mariupol

‘We pray they will be alive’: Fears remain for ‘more than 1,300 people’ in ruins of bombed theatre in Mariupol

Mar 19, 2022

Rescuers in Mariupol are still searching for survivors in the ruins of a theatre destroyed three days ago by what Ukrainian officials said was a Russian airstrike.

The basement was being used by families as a bomb shelter in the besieged city with more than 1,300 people said to have been inside at the time of Wednesday’s attack, which Moscow denies carrying out.

So far, at least 130 people are reported to have survived but there is “no information” about the others.

The theatre was struck despite the word “children” being written in Russian outside in letters large enough to be read from the air.

Ludmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian parliament’s human rights commissioner, said at least 130 people had survived the bombing.

“But according to our data, there are still more than 1,300 people in these basements, in this bomb shelter,” Ms Denisova told Ukrainian television.

“We pray that they will all be alive, but so far there is no information about them.”

Ukraine war: Human traffickers preying on refugees fleeing conflict

Ukraine war: Russia fires ‘hypersonic missile’ – as Putin is accused of using peace talks as ‘smokescreen’

Ukraine war: Man walks away from rubble-strewn tomb after being stuck under debris for hours in Kharkiv missile attack

More than 350,000 people are sheltering in the southeastern port city, officials said, with no access to food or water, as Russia said its forces were “tightening the encirclement” around it.

Videos posted online of Mariupol – subjected to three weeks of siege and shelling which the Red Cross says has caused “apocalyptic” destruction – show civilian areas left unrecognisable by the attacks.

Follow the Daily podcast on Apple Podcasts,  Google Podcasts,  Spotify, Spreaker

Key developments:

• Fighting has reached the city centre in besieged Mariupol, while an estimated 1,300 people remain trapped under rubble following an airstrike on a theatre
• UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is warning Russia could be using peace talks as a “smokescreen” to allow the Kremlin to regroup troops for a fresh offensive
• Attempts will be made today to evacuate people along 10 humanitarian corridors, including one from Mariupol, Ukraine says
• The Home Office says 8,600 visas have been granted under the family scheme for Ukrainians fleeing the war
• Three Russian cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station wearing bright yellow and blue – the colours of the Ukrainian flag
• A total of 112 children have been killed during the war, according to Ukraine

Read Entire Article