"It turns out that we catastrophically lack equipment," he said, adding that the radiation background has not changed in connection with the fire.
He admitted that the fire in the territory of the Chernobylskaya Pushcha plant is the most large-scale since 1992.
Yatsenyuk tried to soothe the public saying that "the situation is under control." "Three aircraft, one helicopter and a considerable amount of equipment are working" to extinguish the flames, he said.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on Facebook "the flames are again attacking the woodland in the direction of Chernobyl NPP facilities. Crowning fire and gusts of wind have created a serious threat of fire spread in the 20-kilometer zone from the Chernobyl NPP. 400 hectares of woods are in the fire zone."
Avakov wrote on Facebook that the Ukrainian Interior Ministry is considering arson as the key version of the fire.
The Exclusion Zone covers an area of approximately 2,600 square kilometers around the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
A deputy chief Ukrainian emergencies official, Nikolai Chechetkin, said earlier today that arson or careless handling of fire could have been the cause of the incident.
http://tass.ru/en/world/792327
29/4/15
--
-
Related:
Chernobyl forest fires may result in large scale re-release of radiation...
ReplyDeleteThe forest fires in the Chernobyl exclusion zone may re-disperse a significant amount of original radiation contamination, depending on whether the fire continues in its trajectory toward the epicenter, evolutionary biologist Timothy Mousseau told RT.
RT:How dangerous is the situation right now?
Timothy Mousseau: Well, from what I can tell, and there hasn't been a lot of detailed information available, but based on the satellite image that I've seen and an area on the map, the Chernobyl map that has been outlined for me by people who are working in the town of Chernobyl right now – they’ve suggested it is to the south of the main contaminated area and heading north. And if you look at the satellite image you can see that the clouds, the smoke is heading directly towards Minsk, Belarus. And I suppose that is good news for Ukraine, but bad news for Belarus.
RT: And how worried should Belarus be then?
TM: Clearly you would not want to be downwind in the main plume. I think the greatest hazard of course is for the firefighters who have to go in and who are going to be forced to actually breathe this contaminated air. But as I've mentioned earlier, this smoke is heavily contaminated. And it is likely to get more contaminated if this fire continues in its northward trajectory............http://rt.com/op-edge/253981-chernobyl-fire-contamination-spread/
29/4/15
Ukraine brings forest fire near Chernobyl nuclear zone under control...
ReplyDeleteA forest fire near Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power (NPP) plant was contained on Wednesday morning, the country’s State Emergency Service said.
"As of 6 a.m. on April 29, the fire front was surrounded and contained. The situation is under control." the agency said in a statement, adding that firefighters continued to put out hot spots.
"A command center has been set up at the site and a mobile response group is working there," it said.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said in a post on Facebook on Tuesday that authorities suspected the fire was started deliberately and had tightened security around the exclusion zone.
Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk told journalists upon return from the fire area that the radiation background had not changed in connection with the fire.
http://tass.ru/en/world/792344
29/4/15