This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52274242
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Forest fire burns 5km from Chernobyl nuclear plant | Forest fire burns 5km from Chernobyl nuclear plant |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| A forest fire that has been burning for several days in northern Ukraine is now just 5km (three miles) away from the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear plant. | |
| Tour operator Yaroslav Emelianenko said the Red Forest to the west of the plant had been burned. | Tour operator Yaroslav Emelianenko said the Red Forest to the west of the plant had been burned. |
| He warned that if the fire reached the abandoned town of Pripyat, which used to serve the power plant, it would be an economic disaster. | He warned that if the fire reached the abandoned town of Pripyat, which used to serve the power plant, it would be an economic disaster. |
| Tourists are still able to visit the town under strict controls. | Tourists are still able to visit the town under strict controls. |
| Police said the fire had been burning since the weekend of 4 April, after a man set fire to dry grass near the exclusion zone. It has since moved closer to the nuclear plant. | |
| More than 300 firefighters with dozens of pieces of special hardware are reportedly working at the site, while six helicopters and planes are attempting to extinguish the fire from above. | |
| Kateryna Pavlova, acting head of the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management, told the Associated Press news agency that they “cannot say the fire is contained”. | |
| “We have been working all night, digging firebreaks around the plant to protect it from fire,” she said. | “We have been working all night, digging firebreaks around the plant to protect it from fire,” she said. |
| On 5 April Yegor Firsov, acting head of Ukraine’s state ecological inspection service, said in a Facebook post that radiation levels in the area had risen substantially above normal. | On 5 April Yegor Firsov, acting head of Ukraine’s state ecological inspection service, said in a Facebook post that radiation levels in the area had risen substantially above normal. |
| Government officials later rejected this finding, and said the levels in the area were “within normal limits”. Mr Firsov also withdrew his remarks. | Government officials later rejected this finding, and said the levels in the area were “within normal limits”. Mr Firsov also withdrew his remarks. |
| Smoke from the fire is now blowing towards Kyiv. | |
| Chernobyl nuclear power station and the nearby town of Pripyat have been abandoned since 1986, when the plant’s No. 4 reactor blew up. | Chernobyl nuclear power station and the nearby town of Pripyat have been abandoned since 1986, when the plant’s No. 4 reactor blew up. |
| The explosion sent a cloud of radioactive fallout across much of Europe, with the area immediately around the plant worst affected. | The explosion sent a cloud of radioactive fallout across much of Europe, with the area immediately around the plant worst affected. |
| People are forbidden from living within 18 miles (30km) of the power station. | People are forbidden from living within 18 miles (30km) of the power station. |
| Chernobyl’s other three reactors continued to generate power until the plant was finally closed in 2000. | Chernobyl’s other three reactors continued to generate power until the plant was finally closed in 2000. |