Prime Minister Ion Chicu sent a message of condolences to his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Honcharuk in connection with the Odessa fire that claimed ten lives, including of a fireman, IPN reports.

“I express my compassion over the loss of ten lives in the December 4 Odessa fire. I offer the sincerest condolences to the families and those close to them. In these hard moments, my sympathy goes out to those who were affected by this terrible tragedy. The pain of losing someone dear cannot be soothed somehow,” says the Premier’s message.

December 8 was declared a day of mourning in Ukraine after a powerful fire that broke out at a six-story hotel in Odessa killed ten persons, destroying about 1,000 square meters on the building’s third floor. There is a firefighter among the dead. A number of persons were hospitalized. The police are investigating arson and an electrical circuit overload among the possible causes of fire.