India shuts down nuclear plant following leak

Authorities in India's western state of Gujarat Friday shut down a nuclear power plant and declared an emergency, following a heavy water leak in one of the reactors, officials said.

All the workers at the plant were reported to be safe.

The leak was detected in Kakrapar Atomic Power Station in Surat, 283 km south of Gandhinagar, the capital city of Gujarat.

"Consequent to a small leak in Primary Heat Transport (PHT) System, the reactor was shut down as intended as per design provisions," reads a statement issued by Lalit Kumar Jain, a senior official of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) in Gujarat.

Reports said the workers within the plant were allowed to go home after thorough checks to prevent no radioactivity is reported outside the plant.

A senior government official Rajendra Kumar posted in Surat told media there was no need to panic and "things were under control."

A local television news channel NDTV described the leak as a "major one" and quoting officials saying the nuclear reactor was slowly cooling down and was in a "safe stage".

The plant's two reactors produce 440 megawatts of power.

Source: Xinhua