Footage shows TV crew escaping explosion amid mortar fire in Ukraine

The TV crew were just metres from a pipeline that was hit by mortar fire. Credit: RTV

Dramatic footage shows the moment a TV news crew were forced to flee a huge explosion after a gas pipeline was hit by mortar fire in eastern Ukraine.

A Ukrainian TV crew member was injured when the Reuters crew were caught in crossfire 15 kilometres from the town of Debaltseve.

Following the explosion, the journalists are seeing fleeing in a car as the fireball rages in the distance.

One of crew members shouts, "we have wounded".

The injured man, who is bleeding having apparently been hit in the arm by shrapnel, is later moved to another vehicle.

Fierce fighting between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russian separatists continues to rage on the outskirts of the town despite a ceasefire agreement last week.