Official says up to 100 people trapped in Nova Kakhovka

At least 100 people in the Nova Kakhovka are trapped, and thousands of wild animals have been killed after the Kakhovka dam collapsed, Russian news agencies reported.

Every second, more than 30,000 cubic metres of water pours out of the reservoir the dam held back, and the town is at risk of contamination, mayor Vladimir Leontyev said.

He said rescue efforts were being undertaken to free people trapped by the floods.

Leontyev was also cited by the RIA news agency as saying that “thousands of animals” at the Nizhnedniprovsky National Nature Park had also been killed and that the scale of the disaster was “huge”.