KIEV: Around 10,000 people were evacuated after a fire and explosions hit a Defence Ministry ammunition depot 176 kms (109 miles) east of the Ukrainian capital Kiev early on Tuesday morning, officials said.


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There was no mention of any casualties and it was not immediately clear whether the explosions were an accident or sabotage. 


The airspace in a 20 km (12 miles) radius has been closed and road and rail transport suspended.
 
Hundreds of people have been deployed to the site, a statement by the emergency services said, and the head of Ukraine`s armed forces has gone there. 


There have been several large fires at ammunition and weapons depots in recent years, an additional drain on Ukraine`s military, which has been fighting Russian-backed separatists in eastern regions since 2014. 


"About 10 thousand people were evacuated," the statement by the emergency services said. "From 04:22 am (0122 GMT) the airspace within a radius of 20 km has been closed. The movement of rail and road transport is suspended."


Last year massive explosions at a military depot in the Vynnytsya region, 270 km west of Kiev, forced the authorities to evacuate 24,000 people.