23 dead in missile strike on Uman

The death toll rose to 23 people Saturday in a missile strike on an apartment building in Ukraine, authorities said. Two people remain missing after the shelling.

Crews concluded search and rescue operations Saturday after the missile strike in the central Ukrainian city of Uman left 23 people dead, including six children, according to Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko. The children included three boys and three girls, he said. All 23 bodies have been identified.

Two women remain missing, and nine others were injured in the strike, Klymenko said.

Seventeen people were rescued after the missile strike, he added. The building kept collapsing during the rescue effort, said Yulia Norovkova, a spokesperson for the region’s emergency services. About 150 officers were involved in recovery efforts, which also included heavy equipment and volunteers.

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The strike was among the deadliest attacks on Ukrainian civilians in months.

“I am grateful to the rescuers, police, utility workers, and dozens of Uman residents who joined in the dismantling of the collapsed building,” Klymenko said in a Facebook statement. “The work went very quickly because everyone was in a hurry. We were hoping to find someone alive under the rubble until the last minute.”