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A former Tucson paramedic died Sunday while working as a monitor of the crisis in Ukraine.

Joseph Stone, 36, worked for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which identified him as the victim of an explosion that hit an armored vehicle in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine. Two other OSCE workers were hospitalized.

The OSCE monitoring mission is made up of unarmed civilians from various countries who observe and report on activity in Ukraine and help foster dialogue among the parties fighting each other.

Before working with aid groups in countries like Afghanistan, Liberia, and Ukraine, Stone grew up in Tucson, graduated from Pima Community College and worked for nine years as a paramedic, said his brother Matthew, 34.

The world really did lose something special on April 23, Matthew Stone said.

In recent years, Joseph worked near war zones, but Ukraine was the first time he had worked inside an active war zone, Stone said.

He always downplayed the danger of it, but it was there, Stone said.

The OSCE started a special monitoring mission in Ukraine in 2014 when the president was ousted from office and Russia took control of the Crimean Peninsula. Since then, nationalist forces in western Ukraine have battled rebel forces in the eastern portion of the country, which is more ethnically Russian.

Nearly 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict, the United Nations reported in December.

The area around Luhansk where Stone was killed is one of the few areas still controlled by rebels.

Stone was the first OSCE worker to die as part of the monitoring mission. His death sparked calls from a wide range of governments and agencies for an investigation into the explosion.

Matthew Stone said international agencies are doing everything they can and was thankful to hear expressions of outrage about his brothers death from Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, among others.

The U.S. State Department issued a statement saying it was shocked and deeply saddened by Stones death, which underscores the increasingly dangerous conditions under which these courageous monitors work, including access restrictions, threats, and harassment.

The statement urged Russia to use its influence with the separatists to allow the OSCE to conduct a full, transparent, and timely investigation.

The chief of the OSCE mission in Ukraine, Ertugrul Apakan, said in an April 24 statement the mission was filled with great sorrow at Stones death.

Apakan said the explosion was likely a mine. He called for a sustainable cease-fire, withdrawal of weapons, full de-mining and real commitment to peace. And I ask that those responsible for placing mines are held accountable.

An online fundraising campaign to help pay for the funeral and other expenses raised $5,800 two days.

Stone is survived by his 13-year-old son, a longtime girlfriend, two brothers and his mother.

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Tucsonan killed while monitoring conflict in Ukraine | Local news ... - Arizona Daily Star