200 evacuated over smoke at French nuclear site

Around 200 people working at the site of a nuclear reactor under construction in northern France were evacuated on Tuesday, after smoke was detected in the vicinity, The Local reports, citing officials. The workers were evacuated “as a precaution,” authorities in the Manche region said, adding that firefighters deployed to the Flamanville site on the Normandy coast had contained the smoke. The smoke was caused by “contact between oil and a source of heat,” making the air difficult to breathe, according to officials. No one was hurt. The European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) that is under construction alongside two existing reactors at the site is a third-generation design touted as the world’s biggest and most advanced nuclear reactor, the paper reported.