Forest fires around the defunct Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant have been extinguished, Ukrainian emergency officials said Tuesday.
The rescuers will need a few more days to put down the smoulderings, but there is no danger remained for the Chernobyl nuclear plant, according to Head of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine Mykola Chechotkin.
"Overall, firefighting aircraft carried out 227 water discharges, equal to about 500 tons of water. The radiation level in the Exclusion Zone remains normal and has not increased," said Chechotkin, noting that more than 400 firefighters and other personnel were still working in the area.
Meanwhile, according to the head of the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management, Ekaterina Pavlova, the exact size of the territory destroyed by the fire is still impossible to establish due to the large amounts of smoke still present.
Hundreds of firefighters have been battling several forest fires around Chernobyl since last week.
While investigators are still working on determining the cause of the fires, arson and the burning of dry grass are considered the two main factors. Police have already detained two people suspected of triggering the blaze by setting dry grass on fire in the area.
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located some 110 km north of Kiev, witnessed one of the worst nuclear disasters in human history on April 26, 1986. After a meltdown and explosion in the reactor, a large tract of land around the plant was designated as a forbidden zone. After radiation levels decreased, the 30-square-km area around the plant was officially opened to tourists in 2010.
