First Mariupol steel evacuees reach safety

Dozens of evacuees who spent weeks in the ruins of a steel works in Russian-occupied Mariupol reached the safety of Kyiv-controlled Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday, where hospitals were ready to treat people for anything from burns to malnutrition.

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said more than 200 civilians remain in the Azovstal steel plant in the Sea of Azov port city, which has been devastated by weeks of Russian bombardment, and that about 100,000 civilians were still in Mariupol.

The United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross coordinated a five-day operation on April 29 to bring out women, children and the elderly from the steel works.

The sprawling Azovstal industrial complex became a refuge for both civilians and Ukrainian fighters as Moscow laid siege to Mariupol, devastating the city .

Hospitals have been stocked up and supported by volunteers to prepare for the arrival of the convoy, Dr Dorit Nizan, World Health Organization (WHO) Incident Manager for Ukraine, said by Zoom from Zaporizhzhia.