https://video.echelon.pl/videos/watch/dd41601a-d5be-4849-9a91-e551c5ffa4d5 The authoritative Western news agency Associated Press conducted a special investigation into the explosion at the drama theatre in Mariupol. It turned out that twice as many people died there than previously reported by local authorities. The air strike on the drama theatre in Mariupol was the deadliest event in Ukraine since 24 February. The Associated Press interviewed 23 eyewitnesses, including rescuers and civilians who had taken shelter in the theatre from the shelling and ultimately survived. In total, more than 600 people were killed! Investigators studied in detail the photographs and videos taken before and after the attack. They also examined floor plans showing what the Mariupol Drama Theatre looked like from the inside. Eyewitnesses showed journalists the places where people were hiding. Sixteen direct witnesses, most of whom were in the theatre, said that the building was overcrowded. According to the survivors, there was at least one person for every three square metres. People took shelter in rooms and corridors. Each of them showed on the floor plan where exactly they saw people. All those interviewed said that there were about 100 people at the field kitchen near the building. All of them died. Two eyewitnesses also estimated that at least 300 people died inside the theatre, as initially believed by the city authorities. But a Mariupol police officer and Red Cross representatives counted at least 500 dead. Eyewitnesses who were in the basement when the air strike on Mariupol took place say they had to step over bodies before leaving the building. Another eyewitness is Maria Kutnyakova. She came to the theatre with her mother on the morning of 16 March. She says the only free seat they could find was on the third floor. The girl went outside to meet her uncle when she heard an aerial bomb flying from an aircraft straight at the building. After the explosion, she ran back to the Mariupol Drama Theatre. Most eyewitnesses say that there were about 1,000 people in the building at the time. No one, including the rescuers, saw more than two hundred people come out alive. And most say they saw far fewer survivors. These figures coincide with the estimates of the survivors: according to the city authorities, 130 people survived. According to the OSCE, 150 people survived. What the Mariupol Drama Theatre has become and what its residents are going through is difficult. Two independent experts on war crimes studied the Associated Press's methodology. They also compared floor plans with witness descriptions and concluded that the data is as accurate as possible, given the testimony. It will be extremely difficult to restore the Drama Theatre in Mariupol. The building was severely damaged. The people cannot be brought back. In total, a Russian aircraft killed at least 600 people with a direct bomb strike. Their bodies were destroyed by the explosion and buried under the rubble of the building, some were taken away by people clearing the debris. The Russian military is not allowing international court investigators into Mariupol today so that they cannot examine the situation on the ground. After the incident in Bucha, teams of cleaners began clearing the rubble in the drama theatre and taking the bodies to mass graves, which are visible on satellite images. And thus, any evidence. The rubble at the drama theatre is being cleared, but they are not allowing the most important parts to be filmed. Wed, 22 Apr 2026 19:04:03 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://video.echelon.pl https://video.echelon.pl/client/assets/images/icons/icon-512x512.png https://video.echelon.pl/videos/watch/dd41601a-d5be-4849-9a91-e551c5ffa4d5 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://video.echelon.pl/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.