Story highlights
The cause of the fire at the Penly nuclear plant is under investigation
There was no release or radiation, and there were no injuries, the owner says
The plant is on the English Channel coast in northern France
A fire broke out inside the reactor building at a nuclear power plant on France’s northern coast, but there were no injuries or release of radiation, French utility EDF reported Thursday.
The cause of the blaze in Unit 2 of the Penly nuclear power plant, near the English Channel port of Dieppe, was still under investigation, EDF said. The fire was extinguished Thursday afternoon, and inspectors were inside the unit, the company said.
The reactor shut down automatically when the fire broke out, and regional authorities were notified immediately, EDF said.
Nuclear power provides more than three-quarters of France’s electricity. The two pressurized-water reactors at Penly, designed by the French nuclear company Areva, went online in the early 1990s.
