UPDATE: Russian attack on Kharkiv causes mass fire, killing at least 7

Correction: A previous version of this article said that at least 13 were killed because the death toll incorrectly included six bodies already accounted for.

A Russian drone attack struck a gas station in Kharkiv, creating a large fire that engulfed 15 residential homes and killed at least seven people, including three children, local authorities reported on Feb. 10. Over 50 Kharkiv residents have been evacuated.

Earlier tonight, Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov reported that the area of the fire was about 3,700 square meters.

The Kharkiv Oblast's prosecutor's office said just before 10:30 a.m. local time that six bodies were found.

At around 6:50 a.m., Governor Oleh Syniehubov announced over Telegram that seven people were killed as a result of the fires, including three children.

Among the victims were a seven-year-old, a four-year-old, and a six-month-old baby.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko later announced that more than fifty people had been rescued but more than a dozen private homes burned to the ground.  

"There were several large-scale fires, which rescuers are working to extinguish," Klymenko wrote. "The emergency services managed to contain the fire in the residential quarter, saving 25 houses from the fire. However, more than a dozen homes burned to the ground."

The bodies of five people, including the three children, were reportedly found in one of the burned homes. Two more people died in a different building.

Earlier tonight, local authorities told Suspilne Kharkiv that a 45-year-old man was hospitalized with first- and second-degree burns, and a 61-year-old woman who inhaled carbon monoxide was also hospitalized.

Emergency services are still searching for individuals trapped within the rubble. So far, four people have been rescued.

Oleksandr Filchakov, head of the regional prosecutor's office stated that the number of casualties may increase as the situation continues to develop.

Filchakov also revealed details of tonight's attack on Kharkiv.

"The Russian military previously launched Shahed drones from the territory of the Belgorod region," Filchakov stated. "Three drones hit the Nemyshlyanskyi district of Kharkiv. As a result, an object of critical infrastructure was destroyed. There was a large amount of fuel, which is why the consequences of the fire were so terrible."

The Russian military has regularly targeted Kharkiv and settlements in the oblast since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Over the past few weeks, the number of attacks on the city has increased.

Russian air strike on Kherson Oblast’s Beryslav injures woman, damages houses

Russian forces launched an air strike on the city of Beryslav in Kherson Oblast, wounding a woman and damaging homes and infrastructure, the regional administration reported on Feb. 9.

The Kyiv IndependentDinara Khalilova