Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

photopolygon.com Simferopol, October 17 (Interfax-Ukraine) - A storehouse with pesticide in Dzhankoi (Crimea) is on fire.

The associate head of the chief department of the Ukrainian Emergency Ministry in Crimea, Volodymyr Ivanov, told Interfax-Ukraine that a storehouse fire started early on Saturday.

"At present fire is being extinguished, and 16 fire-fighting vehicles are used," he said.

Fire fighters use foam to extinguish fire.

The chairman of the Crimean Republican Committee for environment protection, Yevhen Bubnov, told the agency that old pesticide were stores at the storehouse, in particular, magnesium chloride, which is used to treat sunflower and cotton.

He said that magnesium chloride is inert material, although it is highly explosive in combination with oxygen.

Bubnov said that work on transportation of dangerous substances to Poland to utilize them was done at the storehouse, where around 200 tonnes of pesticide and magnesium chloride was stored. A Kyiv firm was doing the work, and around 40 tonnes of pesticide was taken from the storehouse.

He said that on Friday night ignition occurred, which was stopped by a fire engine. However, today in the morning ignition occurred again and barrels, where pesticide was transshipped, started exploding.

Bubnov said no victims were registered.