One Dead In Fire At Power Station In Russian Arctic

A fire at a thermal power station in the Russian Arctic city of Norilsk has killed one person, local emergency officials said.

According to the local branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry on August 3, the fire broke out at a section that was under repair but was promptly contained and the incident did not affect the station's operations.

The TETs-2 thermal power station is owned by a subsidiary of Nornickel, the world's leading palladium and nickel producer, which is owned by Russia's richest man, Vladimir Potanin.

On May 29, some 21,000 tons of diesel fuel spilled into a river and the Pyasino lake from the reservoir of another Nornickel thermal power plant, TETs-3.

• RFE/RL

Russian metals giant Norilsk Nickel said around 45 tons of aviation fuel spilled from an Arctic pipeline on July 12. The incident is the latest in a series of environmental disasters caused by the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium. In May, a 21,000-ton diesel spill from a Norilsk Nickel-operated power plant was described as the worst environmental disaster to ever hit the Arctic.

Russia's ecological watchdog, Rosprirodnadzor, has estimated the damage from the leakage at $2 billion.

Last month, Norilsk Nickel reported that another 45 tons of fuel spilled into the local waters in the Arctic from its aviation fuel pipeline.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax