YEVPATORIA (Ukraine), Dec 25: Nineteen people were killed and another 10 missing after an explosion ripped through an apartment block in a Ukrainian Black Sea resort town, local officials said on Thursday.

Rescuers and residents were desperately searching the wreckage for survivors after the explosion struck a five-story residential building in the Crimean Black Sea town of Yevpatoria late on Wednesday night. “This is a horrible, irreparable loss for all the relatives and loved ones of those who died,” said Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.—AFP