Chernobyl fire extinguished 5 km away from nuclear waste repository
The situation is under control now, the Ukrainian authorities say.
A heavy forest fire in the Chernobyl area was stopped only 5 kilometres away from a nuclear waste repository and 20 kilometres away from the nuclear power plant. The wind dropped on Tuesday evening and rescuers managed to extinguish the fire, Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov wrote on Facebook. The police are investigating the possibility of arson as there were several fire centres on both banks of the Pripyat.
The National Guard and MFA units are patrolling the area now. “There is no reason to panic now. The situation is under control,” Avakov noted.
It was the heaviest fire registered since 1992, the Minister said.
The radiation background has not changed because of the fire in Chernobyl, Ukrainian PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced earlier.
Photo: kmu.gov.ua
