A five-year-old was screaming: 'I don't want to die'

"One mother was trying to find her kids under the rubble," he says.

by The Star

Realtime23 March 2022 - 06:52

In Summary

•Vladyslav, who does not want us to use his full name, was near the main entrance when the explosion hit.

•He ran with others into a basement and, 10 minutes later, heard the building was on fire and emerged to a scene of chaos.

Audio By Vocalize

Picture released by Ukraine's interior ministry shows the damage caused to the theatre building in Mariupol

The aftermath of a bomb hitting a Ukrainian theatre, where hundreds of people were hiding, was "terrible" and "heartbreaking", says 27-year-old locksmith Vladyslav.

The BBC has spoken to survivors who described for the first time what happened when the bomb fell on the building in the besieged south-eastern city Mariupol.

Vladyslav, who does not want us to use his full name, was near the main entrance when the explosion hit.

He ran with others into a basement and, 10 minutes later, heard the building was on fire and emerged to a scene of chaos.

"One mother was trying to find her kids under the rubble," he says.

"Terrible things were happening."

WATCH: The latest news from around the World