MOSCOW, June 8 (Xinhua) -- At least five people died and 41 people were injured following the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam, the mayor of the Nova Kakhovka district said on Thursday.

An animal rescue volunteer, moves among floating debris on a boat in floodwaters at Kherson on June 8, 2023

"It is reported today that out of seven people who were grazing cattle, five drowned," RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing the mayor Vladimir Leontiev.

"We are evacuating the remaining two," Leontiev said, adding that the injured were hospitalized.

The United Nations, Russia and Ukraine have condemned the dam's destruction as a humanitarian and environmental catastrophe.