A fire broke out in Kyiv’s metro on late afternoon on March 4, triggering panic amid passengers and freezing transportation along one of three metro lines, according to reports from officials and witnesses.
Ukraine’s Emergency Ministry evacuated passengers from Osokorky Metro station, where the incident occurred at about 4:45, and claimed later that there were no casualties.
Eyewitness reports claim that smoke started to enter the subway train as it approached Osokorky subway station.
“As we were approaching Poznyaky station [one stop before Osokorky station,] the carriages of the train started to fill up with smoke. People started to panic,” said Kyiv resident Olena Horbyk.
“The smoke was so heavy that I could not see people standing next to me. One person next to me fainted,” she added.
According to Horbyk, passengers saw fire on the tracks near the station. Residents of Poznyaky area say they saw smoke near the subway station.
Twitter user donna_piacente posted a video with smoke around the subway station and the approaching sirens of fire vehicles.
One video posted on YouTube shows sparks trickling down from lighting within the Osokorky metro station. It was not immediately clear if this triggered the fire.
Kyiv subway officials were not immediately available for comment. Interfax-Ukraine quoted officials as saying that the fire was "localized" at about 5:30pm.
The Osokorky metro station, located on Kyiv’s left bank, is one of the stops along the so-called Green Line. It stretches from Chervony Khutir on the far side of Kyiv’s left bank ( and on route to Boryspil airport) across the Dnipro River through downtown (metro stations Palats Sportu and Zoloti Vorota) and to the north, with Sirets station being the last along the route.
Interfax-Ukraine reported just after 6pm Kyiv time that the “Green” metro line had resumed operation, but that the following metro stations along it remained closed: Osokorky, Poznyaky and Slavutych. Officials said the metro would be fully operational again early on March 15.
