About 600 people died in the Drama Theater in Mariupol, bombed by russians. AP reports about this based on the materials of its own investigation.
In the course of the investigation, the AP recreated the chronology of events inside the theater on that day. The data is based on the stories of 23 survivors, rescuers, and people well acquainted with the situation. Investigators used two sets of theater floor plans, photos, and videos taken inside before, during, and after the bombing and feedback from experts who reviewed the methodology.
The investigation notes that the blow was even more terrible than previously thought. The strike killed about 600 people inside and outside the building. This is almost twice as many as estimated before. Many survivors provide even a higher estimate.
All witnesses said that at least 100 people were in the field kitchen near the building, and none of them survived. They also said that the rooms and corridors inside the building were overcrowded, with about one person for every 3 square meters of free space.
Many survivors estimate that about 1,000 people were inside during the airstrike. Survivors mostly came out through the main exit or one side entrance; the other side and the back of the building were destroyed.
The AP investigation also refutes russia's allegations that the theater was destroyed by Ukrainian troops or 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 due to an attack by russian aircraft aimed precisely at the largest bomb shelter in the city, which housed the children.