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Forest blaze breaks out near Chernobyl nuclear plant

Wednesday, 29 April 2015 12:53 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 29 April 2015 12:54 AM ]

A handout picture taken and released by the Ukrainian prime minister's press service on April 28, 2015 shows smoke rising from a forest fire burning near the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine. (AFP photo)

A forest fire has broken out in the exclusion zone around Ukraine’s abandoned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, officials say.

“The fire is at a distance of 15 to 20 kilometers from Chernobyl,” said Maya Rudenko, a spokesperson for the plant, adding that Tuesday's fire was “no problem” and posed no risk to the heavily contaminated former nuclear plant.

According to Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, about 400 hectares of forest has been alight in the exclusion zone around the plant.

Authorities suspect the fire was ignited intentionally and have tightened security around exclusion zone, Avakov further added.

A handout picture taken and released by the Ukrainian prime minister's press service on April 28, 2015 shows a helicopter dropping water onto a forest fire burning near the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine. (AFP photo)

About 200 firefighters along with scores of trucks were battling the blaze, and aircraft were dumping water on the fire about 15 to 20 kilometers from the nuclear plant, the state emergency said.

A handout picture taken and released by the Ukrainian prime minister's press service on April 28, 2015 shows an airplane dropping water onto a forest fire burning near the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine. (AFP photo)

Meanwhile, Zoryan Shkiryak, the head of Ukraine's emergency services, said that the fire had been brought under "full" control.

According to a state nuclear inspection official, the level of background radiation in the vicinity of the plant had not changed after the fire broke out.

*A handout picture taken and released by the Ukrainian prime minister's press service on April 28, 2015 shows smoke rising from a forest fire burning near the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine.(AFP photo)*

Thousands of metric tons of toxic nuclear dust billowed across Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus in the world's worst nuclear plant disaster after the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986.

*File photo shows the Chernobyl nuclear power plant after explosion in 1986.*

The explosion and fire at the Chernobyl resulted in the release of radioactivity into the environment and claimed the lives of over 4,000 people.

Authorities evacuated over 110,000 people from their homes as a 30 kilometer-radius exclusion zone was established around the damaged nuclear reactor.

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