False nuclear alert in Toronto sparks fear

Toronto-area residents had a rude awakening Sunday after receiving a false alert about a nuclear power-plant emergency.

About an hour after people received mobile alerts about a supposed "incident" at the Pickering Nuclear Generation Station, plant operator Ontario Power Generation tweeted without explanation that the warning "was sent in error."

The alerts, including one by public-service site Alertable Canada, said the emergency applied to people within a 10-mile (16-kilometer) radius of the power plant, though it also went to people living farther away.

The incident prompted a flood of scorn on OPG's Twitter feed. One user posted a screenshot from the HBO miniseries "Chernobyl" with a sarcastic caption and others complained about their Sunday morning being jolted.