Dashboard camera footage captures heavy shelling in Mariupol that kills 30 people

The Ukraine government and rebel militias have traded the blame over the attack

The attack saw 30 people killed on Saturday (Youtube/ Viktor Zubritsky)

Shocking dashboard camera footage has emerged showing the moment a driver was lucky to escape with his life after heavy shelling hit a residential area in south-east Ukraine last week.

The harrowing video captures driver Viktor Zubritsky driving down a busy road in the city of Mariupol on Saturday, when all of a sudden explosions are seen at the side of the road.

The terrified driver is then heard screaming, as another shell hits and destroys a lorry just metres in front of Zubritsky’s vehicle.

Several more explosions occur on either side of Zubritsky’s car as the he reverses away to try and escape the bombing.

Warning: Some viewers may find this footage distressing

In total, 30 people, including two children, were killed and a further 102 were injured after shells which were thought to be fired from Grad and Uragan rocket launchers hit the city at the weekend.

According to reports, homes, shops, schools and a market were also destroyed as a result of the attack.

On Saturday, Donetsk regional Police Chief Vyacheslav Abroskin posted on his Facebook page that pro-Russian separatists were responsible for the shelling and one person had been arrested in connection to the attack.

The pro-Russian separatists subsequently denied this, saying that the shells had been fired by Ukraine's government forces.

International monitors and the independent organization Human Rights Watch said examinations of craters at the site confirmed that the missiles had been fired from rebel-held territory.

On Sunday, the UN Security Council backed by Western powers released a statement in reaction to the Mariupol incident calling for the “immediate de-escalation of violence” and the implementation of a “cease-fire.”

On Sunday at Kiev’s Independence Square, dozens of mourners joined together in a candle lit vigil to mourn the 30 who had died in Mariupol.