Explosion at the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid injures employee

An employee of the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid sustained minor injuries after an explosion. Reuters, citing Spanish police, reports that the victim is in the hospital.

Reuters says the explosion occurred near the embassy. Local publication La Vanguardia reports, however, that it happened within the building.

According to media reports, an explosive device arrived in the same envelope as a letter that was delivered to the embassy. News agency Efe sources claim that the letter was addressed to the ambassador, but that an embassy employee opened it.

Madrid police received a report of a conflagration at the embassy around 1:00pm local time (3:00pm Moscow time). The area around the embassy was cordoned off, and sappers were on the scene.

Serhiy Pohoreltsev, Ambassador of Ukraine to Spain, told publication European Pravda that a package addressed to him, and without a return address, arrived at the embassy. His secretary was suspicious, and sent the package to the commandant in charge of security.

“The package contained a box, which made the commandant suspicious, and he took the ‘mail’ outside himself, so that nobody else would be around when he opened it. As soon as he opened it, he heard something clicking inside, he instantly tossed it away from himself, and that’s when he heard the explosion. The explosion injured his hands, and he says he likely got a concussion,” said the ambassador.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko says Ukrainian embassies around the world have stepped up security following the incident.

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