Body count rises to 42 as searchers probe four days of rubble in Komyshuvakha
Rescue teams recovered 42 victims from the destroyed school, with police saying 33 more people may still be trapped inside the structure.
By Natalie Cooper ·
Police in Zaporizhzhia Oblast reported on 5 November that they had recovered 42 bodies from a school in Komyshuvakha that was destroyed by Russian bombs. The death toll has climbed steadily since the initial strike occurred on the morning of 2 November. Search and rescue operations are now in their fourth day, and officials believe another 33 people remain trapped beneath the rubble.
The building had been serving as a distribution point for humanitarian aid when it was hit. Zaporizhzhia Oblast Police stated that teams are continuing to comb through the ruins to find survivors and the deceased. The increase in the reported number of victims follows several updates in the death toll over the past three days.
Forensic specialists from the Missing Persons Search Centre are working to identify the recovered bodies. Police noted that many of the victims cannot be identified by visual inspection alone. Relatives are providing biological samples so that experts can create DNA profiles and compare them to the remains found at the site.
Russian forces used guided aerial bombs in the attack on Komyshuvakha. The strike included at least nine bombs, some of which were FAB-3000 models weighing three tonnes. Emergency personnel reached the scene after the first impact, but Russian forces launched a second attack while responders were on the ground.
The casualties included civilians as well as emergency service members. Among the dead were four police officers and two rescue workers who had arrived to assist. Mykhailo Semikin, the acting head of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration, announced a toll of 37 on the morning of 4 November, two days after the bombing.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later raised the count to 40 on 4 November, stating that more than 30 residents were still under the debris. The police update on 5 November confirmed the new total of 42 recovered bodies and reiterated that search and identification efforts are ongoing.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda
