Fact Check: Is Turkey’s nuclear plant on fire due to the earthquake

An earthquake has ravaged Turkey and over 5,000 people have died. The tragedy continues to unfold as rescue operations continue in very difficult conditions

New Delhi, Feb 08: The devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria have claimed over 5,000 lives so far. Search and rescue operations continue under difficult circumstances even as the death tool continues to rise.

Earlier this week, some users shared videos of a Tsunami hitting Turkey and claimed that it was due to the earthquake. However those images and videos were falsely shared and they were originally from Indonesia.

Now another video relating to the Turkey earthquake has gone viral with the claim that an explosion took place in a nuclear plant in Turkey due to the earthquake.

"Breaking: Turkey's Nuclear plant is on fire. A huge blast has occurred. The whole world is on (sic) risk. Radioactive material is eliminated from the plant contiguously. Leave," wrote one Irtiza Sameen on Twitter.

Another wrote, "Turky (sic) nuclear plant explodes, earthquake."

A reverse search by OneIndia led us to a video from China posted in 2015. Multiple YouTube channels had uploaded that video in 2015 with the description that the explosion took place in the Chinese port city of Tianjin.

We also came across a report in The Guardian with the title, "Tianjin blasts: eyewitnesses capture explosions on film, then flee-video." As per this report dated August 15 2015, the explosion took place in a chemical plant in Tianjin.

Over 173 were killed in the incident. The explosions took place in a building where toxic chemicals and gas were stored and around 49 people, including employees of the factory and government were arrested for illegally storing hazardous chemicals which caused the blast, the BBC had reported.

In this context it also important to check if Turkey has a nuclear plant. Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, Turkey's nuclear plant is currently under construction. An official from the Russian company Rosatom told Reuters said that, 'earth tremors of magnitude were felt here. But our specialists have not revealed any damage to the building structure, cranes and equipment.

The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency said that the earthquakes struck around 200 miles from the construction site, which is the country's first nuclear power plant. The plant has been in construction since 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The nuclear plant is a result of a strategic arrangement between Turkey and Russia in 2010. The project will have four units, each with a capacity of 1,200 MW, with a total installed capacity of 4,800 MW. The project is being implemented by the Akkuyu Nuclear JSC, a Russian-owned company. This plant is expected to provide a significant share in Turkey's energy needs and would reduce the dependancy on imported energy sources. The project has been opposed by environmentalists and international bodies over safety concerns.

Hence it is clear that the video being shared with the claim that Turkey's nuclear plant is on fire due to the earthquake is false. The video is from China and Turkey's nuclear plant is still under construction.