The fire on August 12 at the Zaporizhzhia plant - Europe's largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine under Russian control - did not start from the base of the cooling tower or from an outside object, Reuters reported on August 14 citing information from IAEA.
"The evidence collected supports our conclusion that the main fire does not appear to have occurred at the base of the cooling tower," said IAEA head Rafael Mariano Grossi.
According to the IAEA, "foreign objects or strange materials are visible" in the burned tower area.
The Russian management board of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant informed the IAEA that the burned tower is likely to have to be dismantled.
Russia's TASS news agency reported that on August 14, the IAEA inspected the cooling tower of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant again on August 13.
The investigation team requested access to the second of the two cooling towers at the plant to observe inside and better understand the tower's design.
The fire occurred on August 11 at a cooling tower of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for the fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to AFP.
Both sides said that no spike in radiation levels had been detected around the nuclear power plant, which has been under the control of Russian forces since the early days of the conflict that broke out in Ukraine in February 2022.
Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is located on the east bank of the Dnipro River - the front line in southern Ukraine. Ukraine controls the other side of the river and Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine of deliberately shelling the factory. Ukraine denies these accusations.
For its part, Kiev accused Moscow of militarizing the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, including placing heavy weapons there since the beginning of the conflict. Russia's control of this plant is a form of nuclear "blackmail", according to Ukraine's accusations.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has staff stationed at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, has repeatedly called on all parties to exercise restraint. The IAEA fears reckless military action could cause a major nuclear accident at Europe's largest nuclear power plant.
