Forest fire at Chernobyl put out after 10 days

Ukrainian emergency officials said Tuesday they have extinguished forest fires in the radiation-contaminated area near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but acknowledged that grass was still smouldering in some areas.

Hundreds of firefighters, backed by aircraft, have been battling several forest fires around Chernobyl for the past 10 days.

They contained the initial blazes, but new fires have burnt closer to the decommissioned plant.

Emergency Services have reported that rains helped firefighters put out the flames, but said that it would take a few more days to extinguish smoldering grass.

Chechetkin said emergency workers have prevented the fire from engulfing radioactive waste depots and other facilities in Chernobyl.

The 2,600-square-kilometer (1,000-square-mile) Chernobyl Exclusion Zone was established after the 1986 disaster at the plant that sent a cloud of radioactive fallout over much of Europe, and remains largely unpopulated, with only 200 remaining despite orders to leave.

Ukraine's emergencies service said radiation levels in the capital, Kyiv, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of the plant, were within norms after the forest fires.