Kiev, 6 June 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Tens of thousands of people had to be evacuated following an explosion at the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine on Tuesday, Ukrainian authorities said.

Some 17,000 residents from the Ukrainian-controlled right side of the Dnipro river alone need to be rescued, Ukraine's Deputy Prosecutor General Viktoria Lytvynova stated on television.

Additionally, around 25,000 people on the southern riverbank, which is occupied by Russia, are also at risk. Little information is currently available about their fate.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the flood threatens as many as 80 towns. Military Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported that initially eight towns, including parts of the region, are partially or completely submerged. No information about casualties or injuries is available yet.

The charitable organization Caritas announced the establishment of flood refugee centres in the cities of Odessa and Mykolaiv. So far, 600 flooded houses have been reported.

If the water level in the Kakhovka reservoir drops below 14 metres, approximately 200,000 people outside the Kherson region could face water shortages, the organization warned.

Photo: EPA