Ten people were killed and another ten injured in a blaze caused by an explosion in a slot machine arcade in east Ukraine early on Thursday, a local emergencies spokesman said, RIA Novosti reported.
The blast shook the Metro Jack Pot arcade in Dnepropetrosvk at 00:45 a.m. local time [09:45 p.m. Wednesday GMT], killing nine instantly, one person died later in hospital. Ten others have been hospitalized.
Ukrainian TV said that people were unable to flee the building after the arcade became engulfed in thick smoke.
The rescue operation involved 57 firefighters and 17 fire trucks, the emergencies spokesman said.
The fire was extinguished at 01:40 a.m. local time [10:40 p.m. Wednesday GMT].
"A government commission has flown out to the emergency scene," the Ukrainian Emergencies Ministry said.
