Russian nuclear specialists will examine Iran’s Bushehr nuclear facility following a series of massive earthquakes that killed 37 and wounded 850 in the region.
Over 700 homes were destroyed in the disaster, according to Mehr
news agency.
The 6.3-magnitude quake struck near the plant but did not damage it,
which is located just 11 miles southeast of the city.
"The earthquake in no way affected the normal situation at
the reactor, personnel continue to work in the normal regime and
radiation levels are fully within the norm," an official with
Atomstroyexport, the Russian company which built the facility, told
RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
The governor of the province also confirmed that the plant is
undamaged. The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said
that Iran reported that earthquake caused no damage to the
facility.
"Iran has informed [the IAEA's Incident and Emergency Center]
of the event, reporting that there has been no damage to the
Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and no radioactive release from the
installation," the agency said in a statement, according to
Reuters.
A three-day mourning period has come into effect following the
government’s announcement.
Meanwhile, Iran plans to build more nuclear power reactors in the quake-prone area and has identified 16 sites across the country suitable for other atomic plants.
The Bushehr site is also capable of holding six power reactors
and construction of two more units of at least 1,000 megawatts will
start in the "near future" there. The statement was made on
Wednesday by the head of the Islamic state's Atomic Energy
Organization Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani as quoted by the semi-official
Mehr News Agency.