Mariupol mayor says heavy fighting under way at Azovstal steel plant

Reuters
A view shows a plant of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol

KYIV (Reuters) - The mayor of Mariupol said there was heavy fighting on Wednesday at the Azovstal steel works where the city's last defenders and some civilians are holding out.

Mayor Vadym Boichenko said on national television that contact had been lost with the Ukrainian fighters still in the sprawling steel works and that more than 30 children were among those awaiting evacuation from the plant.

(Reporting by Natalia Zinets, Editing by Timothy Heritage)