MOSCOW, July 6. /TASS/. The total number of fatalities following the destruction of the dam at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) has reached 53, a source in the emergency services told TASS on Thursday.
"Three more bodies were found, the total number of fatalities has reached 53. Some 139 people have been hospitalized," the source said.
Ukrainian forces shelled the Kakhovka HPP in the early morning hours on June 6, which resulted in the collapse of the hydraulic sluice gate valves on the plant’s dam, triggering an uncontrolled discharge of water. The destruction of the power generation facility has seriously damaged the environment, washing away farmland along the Dnieper River and threatening water levels in the North Crimean Canal.