RIVNE, UKRAINE - Last night a fire erupted in the transformer of the third reactor unit at Rivne Nuclear Power Plant, causing panic and an emergency shutdown of the plant.

Three dozen firefighters and ten fire trucks responded to the blaze after emergency procedures were set in place, battling to bring high flames and toxic black smoke under control, reports The Sun.

The Rivne nuclear reactor was built in 1986, the same year the Chernobyl nuclear station exploded in Soviet Ukraine, sending radioactive pollution across Europe.

Ukraine's State Emergency Situations Service of Rivne region reported the level of radiation remained normal in the area. There were no casualties reported.

The cause of the accident is yet unknown.

Source: The Sun