The UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said he hopes Russia and Ukraine can organise “more humanitarian pauses,” such as the one that allowed the evacuation of about 100 Ukrainian civilians from the Azovstal steel plant.

The UN and the Red Cross had earlier said that 101 civilians were evacuated from the tunnels of the plant in Ukraine’s battered city of Mariupol, but warned that others remain trapped.

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It was the first completed civilian evacuation from the giant steel factory, where Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have for weeks been trapped, hiding as Russian forces besieged and pummelling the city.

In a statement, Antonio Guterres said, “I hope the continued coordination with Kyiv and Moscow will lead to more humanitarian pauses that will allow civilians safe passage away from the fighting and aid to reach people where the needs are greatest.”

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In a video press conference with journalists at the UN headquarters in New York, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Osnat Lubrani, also expressed hope the evacuation could be repeated elsewhere.

In the Azovstal plant, “there are civilians still trapped, some of them may have been afraid to come out. Some of them probably couldn’t make it,” Lubrani said, though she was unable to specify the number of people who remained.

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There must be “additional engagement and continued engagement between the parties with support of the United Nations and the ICRC to continue looking for, planning to do more operations like this to save lives” in Ukraine, she said, referring to the International Committee of the Red Cross by its acronym.