The latest information about the fire in Viršuliškės: at least one person died

A powerful explosion took place in Viršuliškių street, in the house marked with number 101.

Witnesses at the scene 15min toldthat the explosion was so strong that the windows of the surrounding cars shattered, even the nearby apartment buildings shook.

VIDEO: It is difficult to describe in words: the explosion in Viršuliškės spilled things into the yard, people lost their property

Around the apartment building where the explosion took place, they saw a lot of debris and glass, some of which were scattered several tens of meters.

VIDEO: Video from Viršuliškii: firefighters extinguished the fire, the house was engulfed in smoke

There may be a child left in one of the apartments

Vytautas Nenartavičius, the firefighter in charge of extinguishing, told journalists more about the fire at the scene.

“Upon arrival, the flames could be seen on several floors, and on the fifth floor people from different apartments were calling for help – they were brought up with ladders,” said the firefighter.

“On further search of the premises, several people were taken out from inside,” he added.

Lukas Balandis/BNS photo/At the fire scene

According to him, according to currently available data, five people were injured, and a child may have been left in one of the apartments.

“Apparently, the most painful information is that there is possibly a child left inside (…) That information is as follows… We received it from the mother, who was taken to the hospital, we cannot say more precisely yet,” said V. Nenartavičius.

Body found

Later on 15min he said that in one of the apartments, a burnt body, probably an adult, was found.

“We see that there is a human body, but we can’t get to it yet, neither to confirm the personality nor the gender. The extinguishing is still going on, (firefighters – BNS) saw a human body,” Donatas Gurevičius, representative of the Fire Protection and Rescue Service at the scene, told BNS.

According to him, a human body was spotted among the collapsed structures.

According to D. Gurevičius, firefighters will work at the fire scene for at least a few more hours.

“We still can’t get to all the premises and inspect them properly,” the official told BNS.

According to him, after the blast wave, some five-story structures are unstable, affected by the temperature.

An expert from “Vilnius TECH” University has been working at the scene since the beginning of the fire, and he supervises the rescue work.

VIDEO: 15-minute reader’s video: large number of firefighters and medical forces in Viršuliškės

Minister: “A very painful accident”

According to Minister of the Interior Agnė Bilotaitė, who visited the scene, this explosion and fire is a very painful disaster.

According to her, it will take time to find out the cause of the explosion.

The minister assured that the residents of the house are currently in a nearby kindergarten, where they are provided with both medical and psychological help.

“Currently, the people who were in the building have been transferred to the collective security building – the kindergarten, which is nearby. I contacted the mayor of Vilnius city, we discussed the situation with him – people will be taken care of, Vilnius city municipality will do it,” said A. Bilotaitė.

Lukas Balandis/BNS photo/At the fire scene

According to her, the condition of the house is currently being assessed by experts – after that it will be clear whether it is safe to live in.

“We are waiting for the expertise, the experts have arrived, they will assess the situation and tell us,” asserted the Minister of the Interior.

16 people requested shelter

By that time, according to A. Bilotaitė, some of the residents of the house will be transferred to a hotel – Vilnius City Municipality takes care of that.

According to her, “thank God” that there were no children playing in the yard of the nearby kindergarten at the time of the explosion, because “they would have been affected too.”

“Due to the fire in the apartment building in Viršuliškės, residents of 30 apartments have been evacuated, according to current information, 5 people have been injured,” Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas announced on his Facebook account.

“Currently, the evacuated residents have taken shelter in a nearby kindergarten, where they are provided with the most important help and information. Vilnius City Municipality takes care of temporary accommodation of residents.

Losing a home is a great tragedy. Great strength and health to the victims,” ​​writes the mayor.

The representative of the municipality, Gabrielius Grubinskas, informed BNS that 16 people have asked for temporary shelter, others intend to stay with their relatives.

A preliminary investigation has been launched

The head of the Lithuanian police, Renatas Požėla, also visited the scene of the fire.

According to him, a pre-trial investigation has been launched into the incident.

“We carry out perimeter protection, we are ready to protect residents’ property for as long as necessary. A pre-trial investigation will be conducted in cooperation with the fire and rescue services,” said the Commissioner General.

“We are now waiting for the fire to be extinguished, to be able to get inside and to carry out specific steps of the pre-trial investigation,” he added.

According to the representatives of the services, at the moment all communications are turned off in the house where the accident occurred. It can also affect surrounding buildings. There is no heating or water in the house.

“The condition of the building is still being assessed. We are still waiting for experts’ conclusions. According to this, it will depend on when the residents will be able to return to the building,” municipality representative Gabrielius Grubinskas told BNS.