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False rumours of blast at Volgodonsk power plant

By Umalt Chadayev

 CHECHNYA - In Chechnya there have been rumours of an explosion at a nuclear power plant in the city of Volgodonsk, Rostov Oblast. People alarmed by the rumours are urgently taking precautionary measures.  Residents were being encouraged to take a few drops of iodine dissolved in boiled water.

“... My neighbours… warned me of the danger, "says Salambek, a resident of the village of Pervomayskaya. "Naturally there was immediate panic. Everyone began calling their families to warn them. People from other villages and districts were calling us. We don’t yet know if the rumours are true, but considering how badly the Russian authorities treat their citizens, it’s possible that there something did happen, and now they’re trying to cover it up.”

Meanwhile, the rumours have reached neighbouring Ingushetia. According to some reports, crowds of people have been buying iodine at pharmacies since early morning.

According to the Chechen Interior Ministry, there has been no accident at any of the power plants in Southern Russia. "The law-enforcement agencies have begun to investigate the sources of this panic-mongering. This is a clear provocation which someone has launched deliberately with the aim of causing panic among the citizens, not only in Chechnya but also in other regions of the Southern  Federal District. As far as I know, similar rumours have been spreading in Kabardino-Balkaria, Stavropol and other places, " an Interior Ministry officer says.

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