A wildfire that has been raging for several days in the Chernobyl exclusion zone in Ukraine was now just a few kilometres from the abandoned nuclear plant, according to reports.
Hundreds of firefighters were battling the forest fire while officials insisted there was no risk to the ruined reactor and nearby nuclear waste storage facilities, the metro nespaper reported on Tuesday.
While forest fires are common in the exclusion zone, Greenpeace Russia said this blaze, which broke out 10 days ago, is the worst since the 1986 nuclear explosion.
The campaigners said satellite images showed the fire at its closest point was just 1.5 km from the protective dome over the ruined reactor.