Fire shuts down Spanish nuclear plant

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A fire broke out at a nuclear power station in the northeastern province of Tarragona on Sunday, forcing the plant to close temporarily but posing no threat of a nuclear leak or environmental danger, nuclear regulators said. The fire broke out at 08:49 Sunday at one of the Vandellos II power station's electricity generating units and triggered an emergency shutdown, the Nuclear Safety Council said in a statement. The fire was extinguished two hours later, and there were no injuries or environmental damage. Vandellos II is situated on the Mediterranean coast 140 kilometers southeast of Barcelona, and is one of seven Spanish nuclear plants. It is run by Spain-based energy companies Endesa and Iberdrola, S.A. The fire was the second incident at a Spanish nuclear plant in recent months.