Fire breaks out on floating nuclear plant at Russia shipyard

MOSCOW – Russia’s emergency services ministry says a fire broke out on the floating nuclear power plant being built at a shipyard near the centre of St. Petersburg, but was extinguished before anyone was injured.

Construction of the floating plant, which is to be deployed in Russia’s Far East, has caused concern among environmentalists. Rashid Alimov of Greenpeace’s Russian branch said Tuesday’s fire showed that plans for loading nuclear fuel into the plant’s reactors are “irresponsible.”

The shipyard is about two kilometres (1.25 miles) downriver from some of St. Petersburg’s most renowned tourist sites, including the State Hermitage Museum.

The ministry statement says the fire was caused by a short circuit in a storage battery.