UKRAINE-RUSSIA WAR

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.

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.

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

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."

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