Explosion reported at ammunition depot in northern Ukraine

An explosion was reported at an ammunition depot in Ukraine's Chernigov Region, resulting in a fire, the General Staff of the Ukrainain Armed Forces said on its official Facebook page on Tuesday.

"At 3:30am [local time], we received a report from the head of the 6th arsenal that an explosition occured on technical territory near the settlement of Ichnya in the Chernigov Region," the General Staff said.

People are being evacuated. An operational group was dispatched to the site of the explosion. "Appropriate restrictive measure are being introduced in the Chernigov Region and along it borders," the General Staff said.

About 10,000 people have been evacuated from the danger zone in the area close to the burning ammunition depot in Ukraine’s northern Chernigov Region, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported on Tuesday.

"At 03:40 on October 9, the State Emergency Service received a report on a fire and explosions on the territory of the Defense Ministry’s 6th arsenal near the settlement of Druzhba in the Chernigov Region’s Ichnya District," the Emergency Service said, adding that around 10,000 have been evacuated from the area.

Besides, "the airspace within a radius of 20 km has been closed since 04:22, while rail and road traffic has been suspended."

According to Ukraine’s Deputy Interior Minister Sergei Yarovoi, there are no immediate reports of casualties. "The emergency response center has been deployed [to the area]. There is no information about any victims," he said in a statement posted on the ministry’s website.