Fires near Chernobyl station raise fears of radioactive material release

Kiev

Firefighters in the banned buffer zone around Chernobyl station in northern Ukraine are fighting to control forest fires that have been burning for more than a week due to drought.

About 400 firefighters are participating in efforts to extinguish the fires, which extend over an area of 3,500 hectares, according to German Press Agency.

Although the official emergency service confirmed that radiation levels appeared at an acceptable rate, environmentalists feared that fires could cause radioactive ash, and that radiation-contaminated smoke could reach the capital Kiev.

The 1986 explosion at Chernobyl is the worst nuclear disaster in history.