Forest fire in Chernobyl's nuclear zone stirs controversy

The 1986 Chernobyl reactor explosion was the world's worst nuclear accident

Last updated: April 08, 2020 | 08:44

AFP and Compiled by Christian Borbon, Digital Content Editor

2 MIN READ

1/11

A forest fire in the Chernobyl nuclear exclusion zone spread further Tuesday, fanned by strong winds, authorities said, insisting that radiation levels remained normal.

2/11

On Sunday, Yegor Firsov, acting head of Ukraine's state ecological inspection service, said in a Facebook post that radiation levels at the centre of the fire were higher than normal.

3/11

But government agencies rejected that finding and Firsov himself later withdrew his remarks.

4/11

A geiger counter measures a radiation level at a site of fire burning in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, outside the village of Rahivka, Ukraine.

5/11

Firefighters have been battling a blaze that broke out at the weekend in the wooded zone around the ruined Chernobyl reactor that exploded in 1986 in the world's worst nuclear accident.

6/11

The fire covered some 35 hectacres (87 acres), having tripled in size due to strong winds, the emergencies service said in a statement, adding that background radiation levels remained "within normal limits".

7/11

Police said the blaze broke out after a man set fire to dry grass near the exclusion zone.

8/11

An aerial view of a forest fire burning near the village of Volodymyrivka in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine.

9/11

An unhabited house burns in the middle of a forest fire near the village of Volodymyrivka, in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine.

10/11

Chernobyl zone workers extinguish a forest fire burning near the village of Volodymyrivka, in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine.

11/11

Fires occur regularly in the forests near the Chernobyl power plant.

Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox