Nine killed in fire at Tokyo Star hotel in Ukraine’s Odessa

Nine people were killed in a hotel fire in Ukraine’s port city of Odessa on Saturday, leading authorities to launch a country-wide inspection of safety regulations in holiday resorts and hotels.

The fire broke out at 1.34am (local time) in the southern city’s Tokyo Star hotel.

Emergency services initially said eight people had died and ten were injured, later saying the number of deaths rose to nine.

Some 65 firefighters backed by 13 emergency vehicles put out the blaze three hours later.

In a statement on his Facebook page, President Volodymyr Zelensky said four of those injured were in a critical condition.

Odessa authorities said around 150 people were evacuated from the area.