At least one person died on Wednesday in the eastern Ukrainian town of Mykolaivka, Donetsk Oblast, after a reported Russian attack on a school being used by residents as a shelter.

About 15 people were in the basement of the school, including two children and a disabled person, at the time of the strike.

A 63-year-old woman, who worked as a guard at the school, was killed.

Rescue workers and firefighters searched for hours for her body under the debris of the building. When the rescuers started to dig through the rubble, the victim’s daughter ran desperately to the collapsed building, while relatives and friends pulled her back and tried to comfort her.

Watching the scene was 69-year-old Mykola Moroz, who survived the attack. He had been sleeping in the school since the war began in February, as he felt it was a safe place to shelter.

On Wednesday he overslept and did not go out to smoke his usual morning cigarette. He said that probably saved his life.

After hearing the noise of the explosion and feeling its force, he remained in the basement, with several others, until firefighters later came to rescue them.

Mykolaivka is a town located about 30km (18.5 miles) from Lyman, a city occupied by the Russians and where the Ukrainian forces are trying to advance.