39 anti-government activists have died in a fire at Odessa’s Trade Unions House. Some burned to death, while others suffocated or jumped out of windows, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry reported. The building was set ablaze by pro-Kiev radicals.
[WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT INSIDE]
A total of 46 people have died in Odessa’s violence on Friday and
almost 200 others have sustained injuries, Odessa Region
prosecutor Igor Borshulyak told journalists on Saturday.
39 of the dead lost their lives in the fire at the Odessa Trade
Unions House, according to the Ukrainian emergencies agency.
“31 of the dead were found inside the building, eight more
were found outside by law enforcement officers,” the
agency’s statement reads.
Police detained over 130 people following Friday’s bloody clashes and opened up 10 criminal investigations with charges including premeditated murder and violence against law enforcement officers.
According to the ministry, the Friday standoff on Odessa included “anti-Maidan” activists on one side and “football fans” from Odessa and Kharkov, as well as "euro-Maidan" activists, on the other. A criminal case on the charges of mass unrest has been opened.
The Trade Unions House was set on fire by pro-Kiev radicals after they surrounded and destroyed the tent camp of anti-government activists that stood in front of the building on Odessa’s Kulikovo Field Square. It was torched in a storming attempt after some of the anti-Maidan activists rallying in the square barricaded themselves inside the building.
The majority of the victims were found on the floors of the Trade Unions House having apparently burned to death or suffocated from smoke. Others jumped out of the building's windows, according to police.
Earlier reports of the clashes in Odessa said that both sides used Molotov cocktails and, allegedly, gunfire. Part of the pro-Maidan activists reportedly bore insignia of the radical Right Sector group.
Дом профсоюзов в Одессе. pic.twitter.com/2eIlo8frMX
— Антимайдан (@myrevolutionrus) May 2, 2014
A live video stream from inside the building showed disturbing scenes of supposedly dead bodies lying around the rooms with thick smoke in the air and blood stains on the floor.
Most of the bodies filmed had St. George ribbons attached to their clothes, distinguishing the victims as pro-Russian or anti-Kiev activists.
The person filming said he counted up to 25 dead bodies on the upper floors alone.
As the house was engulfed in flames, photos posted on Twitter showed people hanging out of windows and sitting on windowsills of several floors, possibly preparing to jump. Reports claimed that those who jumped and survived were surrounded and beaten by football ultras and the Right Sector.
#Одесса люди стоят на карнизах дышать в здании не чем . pic.twitter.com/qdw5l0jW6D
— Новороссия (@NOVORUSSIA2014) May 2, 2014
Они пишут: #Одесса ...колорад готовится к полету... pic.twitter.com/UI0Ko2KUZe
— Ольга Левитова (@levitovo) May 2, 2014
The riot police lines standing beside the building were apparently doing nothing to prevent the violence, the photos showed. Police officers reportedly said they could not do anything because they were “unarmed.”
Activists trapped on the roof of the besieged Trade Unions House building have been rescued and taken to a police station, the self-proclaimed head of the Republic of Odessa told Rossiya 24.
One of the activist trapped there told RT by phone earlier that up 50 people were there with him, including women.
There are a couple of hundred riot police. They are doing nothing: pic.twitter.com/cu4pCMgWmd
— Howard Amos (@howardamos) May 2, 2014
As people were dying in the burning building, some of the
pro-Kiev activists jeered on Twitter that “Colorado beetles
are being roasted up in Odessa,” using a derogatory term for
pro-Russian activists wearing St. George’s ribbons. Few media
outlets followed the developing situation, with thousands of
people taking to live streams to see the events unfolding.
However, just as the first official death toll emerged, some
Western media and leaders rushed to seemingly downplay the role
of pro-Kiev activists in the incident and to blame their rivals
instead.
“More than 40 people were killed in Odessa on Friday, most caught in a building set on fire after pro-Russian activists and supporters of Ukrainian unity fought running battles across the southern port city,” Reuters wrote.
“Horrible with at least 38 dead in Odessa. Seems to have started with pro-Russian attempt to get control of buildings. Violence must stop!” Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on Twitter. Earlier, Bildt blamed “pro-Russian thugs” for the street violence in Odessa.
A night to be mourning a national tragedy in Ukr, @carlbildt only wants to pin blame on 'pro-Russia thugs'. Appalling pic.twitter.com/ukV9f60Zp4
— GrahamWPhillips (@GrahamWP_UK) May 2, 2014