(Dnipro) The day after the deadly strike of a Russian missile on the building where he lived in Dnipro, in eastern Ukraine, Roman Jouravksy is still desperately looking for his mother.
“My mother has not yet been found. But the probability, given that five floors have collapsed on it…”, he begins, before interrupting himself.
According to the latest relief report on Sunday evening, 45 people remain missing after the partial collapse of the nine-storey building. At least 30 people died and 75 were injured.
PHOTO SERGEI CHUZAVKOV, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Rescuers carry a woman evacuated from the rubble.
The Jouravsky family hoped to find safety by moving into the building at the start of the war, far from their region of Donetsk (east) plagued by the hardest fighting of the conflict.
They had all planned to go to church on Saturday, the day of the attack, but the mother, feeling ill, chose not to.
“I heard a loud explosion […] Everyone started calling me to tell me it was me,” recalls Roman Jouravsky, standing near the smoking ruins.
He then rushed home.
I saw a terrible picture. Everything was covered in smoke and dust.
Roman Jouravsky
He checked the nearby hospital – no trace of his mother.
He was nevertheless moved by the support received. Even strangers with similar experiences called him, ready to help. “I would like to tell everyone that I am very grateful,” he says.
“State of stupor”
Around him, rescuers continue to search the rubble.
Tents have been erected in which volunteers distribute hot drinks and food.
PHOTO CLODAGH KILCOYNE, REUTERS
People watch emergency personnel work.
Laryssa Borysenko is the leader of the canine team deployed on the site. Her dogs found six bodies, and she still hopes to find survivors.
“We have been working here for 7 or 8 pm, without sleep and without rest,” she says.
For the moment, 39 people, including six children, have been evacuated from the devastated building, the emergency services said on Sunday evening.
PHOTO EVGENIY MALOLETKA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Rescue workers clear rubble from an apartment building which was destroyed by a Russian rocket attack at residential neighborhood in the southeastern city of Dnipro, Ukraine, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Among them, Kateryna, 17, was at home with her father when the missile hit on Saturday.
“I fell into a stupor, I didn’t even know what to do. I started crying and screaming very loudly, ”she says, wrapped in a down jacket.
Rescuers heard the father and daughter calling for help and quickly evacuated them, she added.
After a short night at a friend’s apartment, she returned with her mother Natalia to pick up her two beloved cats.
Natalia pulls out her phone, shows pictures of the animals on her phone to a rescuer. “Gorgeous cats […] We like them very much. There are two: Busya and Kuzya,” explains the mother.
PHOTO YEVHENII ZAVHORODNII, REUTERS
A rescuer holds a rescued cat.
Many others are present in front of the building, hoping to hear from relatives or to collect some belongings. Some hug each other, others have brought small suitcases.
Natalia suddenly jumps up: a rescue worker brings back one of her cats. “Oh Busya, our little hero! she exclaims, wrapping a blanket around the feline, which meows loudly. Then she adds: “They didn’t find the second one…”