EKATERINBURG, April 4. /TASS/. Rosatom has begun the main phase of evacuating staff from the Bushehr nuclear power plant (NPP) in Iran. A total of 198 people are being transported by bus toward the Iran-Armenia border, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said.
"As planned, we began the main phase of the evacuation today. About 20 minutes after that unfortunate strike, buses departed from the Bushehr plant toward the Iran-Armenia border. There are 198 people, to be precise — this is the largest evacuation," Likhachev told reporters.
He noted that the evacuees are already on buses and heading toward the Armenian border. Within two to three days they will leave Iran and return home.
Likhachev added that the Iranian side is doing a great deal to ensure the safety of the Rosatom staff evacuation route, and cooperation with the Armenian government is proceeding smoothly. The Russian nuclear specialists will leave the region from Yerevan airport, he said.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran reported on Saturday that another strike had been carried out near the Bushehr nuclear power plant. A projectile fell near the plant’s territory, killing one of the nuclear facility’s security guards, but the main facilities were not damaged. The International Atomic Energy Agency, commenting on the incident, noted that strikes on nuclear power plant sites and adjacent areas are unacceptable, as equipment critical to ensuring nuclear safety is located there.