During an agreed-upon cease-fire, a group of around 24 civilians, mainly women and children, boarded a transport at a location inside the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol and were driving out of the besieged site to safety, CNN reports.

The evacuation happened about 12 hours after the cease-fire was originally scheduled to begin at 6:30 a.m. local time because of a problem bringing the transportation convoy to the site.  The civilians were people who had taken refuge at the site during fighting.

“We have brought 20 civilians to the agreed meeting point, whom we’ve managed to rescue from under the rubble. These are women and children. We hope these people will go the agreed destination, which is Zaporizhzhia, the territory controlled by Ukraine,” Capt. Svyatoslav Palamar, the deputy commander of the Azov Regiment, said.  “As of now, the rescue operation is ongoing, conducted by the servicemen of Azov – we rescue the civilians from under the rubble.”

There are thought to be hundreds of people on the grounds of the plant, which has been the target of intense bombing and bombardment over the past weeks.  The Ukrainians are still digging through the remains of some of the buildings on the site in search of survivors.

The plant was built by the Soviets after World War II to become a bastion against an invading army, a decision made in the light of the prolonged attack on the city by the Germans.

The evacuation did not allow for wounded soldiers requiring advanced medical care to be evacuated, a provision the Russians blocked.