Almost 2,000 personnel and 200 units of equipment were involved in the firefighting. First Deputy Interior Minister Serhii Yarovyy announced today, during a briefing in the village of Syrotyne near Severodonetsk, Luhansk region.

"On September 30, a difficult situation arose in Luhansk region due to the spread of fires. A total of 146 areas were found, 116 of which were extinguished or localized. The SES and the State Forest Resources Agency are working at 30 spots of blaze. The total area covered by the fire is more than 11 thousand hectares. 250 buildings were damaged. 120 people were evacuated from the danger zone," Serhii Yarovyy said.

He noted that at the moment there are data about 9 dead: "One died in a fire. The causes of death of others can be said after the relevant examinations. The police have opened 7 criminal proceedings, 30 operational investigations groups have been set up to inspect all damaged objects".

According to the First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, almost 2,000 people and 200 units of equipment were involved in the fire fighting.

"A meeting of the operational headquarters took place and a government group in the village of Sirotyne talked to local fire victims to assess the damage and explain the mechanism of assistance and compensation. The victims will be provided with timely and necessary assistance," Serhii Yarovyy added.

Head of the SES Mykola Chechotkin stated that now the main efforts of the SES are focused on work in the settlements: "As a result of the difficult situation, 31 settlements fell into the affected area yesterday. The rapid spread of the fire was entailed by a strong wind, up to 28 meters per second, which is already a windstorm and, thus, the fire spread. Today, in a few hours, the work in the settlements will be completed and the SES forces will be redeployed to the forest ranges. 3 An-32P fire planes and a helicopter were engaged in extinguishing the fires. A second fire helicopter will be involved, which is now being redeployed from Nizhyn to Kramatorsk airport," the head of the State Emergency Service said.

According to him, the fire was prevented to spread to the Azot plant, the main gas pipeline station. Fires were eliminated with minimal consequences at the antiseptic plant and household chemicals warehouse.

As the Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov noted earlier, there is no threat of burning the varnish and paints production plant and alcohol plant.