Fire occurred at Chinon Nuclear Power Plant in France

The blocks will remain disconnected until the completion of the investigation and clarification of the reasons for the fire incident that occurred on Saturday morning, February 10. It is noted that the fire itself was extinguished overnight.

"Production unit number 3 at the Chinon nuclear power plant has shut down automatically, in accordance with the reactor's safety and protection systems," said EDF in a statement.

The operator also added that reactor number 4, which is connected to the third reactor, was also shut down.

EDF specified that the fire, which spread to the main transformer of block number 3, occurred outside the nuclear zone. There were no casualties as a result of the incident.

The company also mentioned that the fire had no "impact on the surrounding environment."

According to the French Nuclear Safety Authority, the fire led to a power outage at the station.

Reference: The French Chinon Nuclear Power Plant is one of the country's oldest nuclear stations, located in the Center-Loire Valley region. The station originally had seven reactors, including 3 gas-cooled UNGG reactors, all of which are now closed (the first reactor currently houses a museum of nuclear energy).

Currently, four pressurized water reactor blocks developed by Framatome with a capacity of 905 MW each are in operation. It's worth noting that the Chinon Nuclear Power Plant generates approximately 6% of France's total electricity consumption.

In March of last year, a fire occurred at the Atucha 1 Nuclear Power Plant in Argentina, affecting a high-voltage power line. As a result of the incident, a significant portion of Buenos Aires and several provinces in the country were left without power.