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Fire Breaks Out Near Chernobyl Nuclear Plant, Spike in Radiation Levels Observed

Chernobyl nuclear power plant was evacuated after radioactive contamination took place because of the explosion in 1986.

Kyiv| Ukrainian firefighters rushed on Sunday to put off two forest blazes around the area of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which was evacuated after radioactive contamination took place because of the explosion in 1986.

Ukrainian emergency services said one fire with five hectares (12 Acres) length was localized. The other fire covered 20 hectares (50 acres) distance. Yehor Firsov, the head of the state ecological inspection service, said the fires had spread across an area of 100 hectares (250 acres). The discrepancy in sizes couldn’t be resolved immediately.

Firsov also mentioned that radiation levels at the fire were significantly higher than normal. Although, the emergency services said that radiation level in the capital Kyiv, about 100 kilometers south of the plant, were well within the norms.

The fires erupted within an area of 2,600-square-kilometer, known as the Chernobyl exclusion zone. The area was developed after the 1986 disaster that out the most of Europe under a threat of radioactive fallout.

The popular HBO series, Chernobyl, named after the plant, depicted the show of how chaos erupted in the Chernobyl plant after the explosion in 1986.

The area is largely unpopulated, but 200 people have remained despite the orders to leave.

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