Kyiv's Hotel Ukraine Becomes Makeshift Morgue

The Hotel Ukraine, a four-star establishment hovering over Kyiv's Independence Square, has been a choice spot for journalists covering anti-government protests in Ukraine.

Today it became a morgue.

Here's the chronology of events.

Early in the morning, Ukrainian security personnel opened fire on demonstrators in the square. There were simultaneous reports of shots fired at the hotel.

Duncan Crawford, a BBC correspondent staying at the hotel, posted this photo.

Matt McGarry, a freelance correspondent for ABC, posted this.

Soon after, demonstrators and medics began rushing wounded protesters to the hotel.

Medical personnel set up an emergency unit.




And then the hotel became a makeshift morgue.


Olga Bogomolets is the chief medic for the protest movement. "We have no one who was shot in the arms or legs," she said. "All of them are shot with metal bullets directly in the heart."

-- Glenn Kates