Forest fire near Chornobyl plant 

KYIV – Firefighters fought to contain a raging forest fire that started on the evening of June 29 in the exclusion zone near the destroyed Chornobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine. About 120 firefighters along with scores of trucks and aircraft battled the blaze that swept through some 130 hectares, the State Service of Emergency Situation said on June 30. It was the second forest fire in the area this year. A massive fire broke out some 15 to 20 kilometers from the nuclear plant on April 28. Emergency services had deployed more than 300 firefighters, three planes and one helicopter to tackle that fire, which Kyiv said was the largest in Ukraine since 1992. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Interfax and the Associated Press)