600 people died in Mariupol Drama Theater shelling, mass media report

An Associated Press investigation says the russian attack on the Mariupol Drama Theater was actually much more deadly than expected, killing about 600 people inside and outside the building.

The Associated Press reports.

The publication reconstructed a 3D model of the building based on eyewitness accounts, two sets of floor plans of the theater, photographs, and videos taken inside.

All witnesses said that at least 100 people were in the field kitchen near the house, and no one survived. They also said that the rooms and corridors inside the building were overcrowded, with about one person for every 3 square meters.

Many survivors estimate that about 1,000 people were inside during the airstrike, but no one saw more than 200 escaping.

The investigation also refutes russia's allegations that the theater served as a Ukrainian military base. None of the witnesses saw the Ukrainian military operating inside the building. And no one doubted that the theater was destroyed by an attack by russian aircraft.

Note

On March 16, the occupying forces dropped a heavy bomb on the Mariupol Drama Theater where refugees who had lost their homes were hiding.