An explosion has rocked a French nuclear power plant close
to the English Channel after a fire broke out in the machine room. The blast
was felt at 10am this morning at the EDF Flamanville plant, just 100 miles from
the English coastline. Five workers were treated for smoke inhalation and one
of the reactors at the plant has been
shut down, though there is no radiation
risk. 'It is not a nuclear accident,' senior local official Jacques Witkowski
said.
He said a ventilator had exploded outside the nuclear zone
at the plant, which has been in operation since the 1980s. Five people suffered
smoke inhalation but there were no serious injuries, Witkowski said.
An advanced medical post, which usually is sent in during
emergencies involving several victims, was sent to the plant, according to
Ouest France.
'It is a significant technical event but it is not a nuclear
accident,' senior local official Olivier Marmion said following the blast at
the Flamanville plant 25 kilometres (15 miles) west of Cherbourg.
He added that five people had reported feeling unwell but
that there were no serious injuries. Former MP for Richmond Park Zac Goldsmith,
who was beaten to the post of Mayor of London by Sadiq Khan last year, tweeted:
'Massive explosion' at French nuclear plant - 60 miles from England.
'We can now expect a massive cover up by the Government and
nuclear industry.'
EDF said a fire at one of the reactors led to a blast at
around 8.40am GMT in a non-nuclear zone of the plant.
As a result, the reactor has been shut down, though it was
not clear how long for.
The fire was in Reactor 1 at the plant, which was built in
the 1980s along with Reactor 2.
A state-of-the-art Reactor 3 is currently under
construction, but the blast did not affect it.
Reactor 3, a water pressurised reactor, is the model for a
new reactor at Hinkley Point C in the UK but is years behind schedule.
Source: Dailymail uk
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