A nuclear power plant in Slovenia has been closed as a precaution after two major earthquakes rocked neighboring Croatia, a Slovenian government minister said on Tuesday.
The Krsko Nuclear Power Plant, not far from the Croatian border, was “safely stopped” on Tuesday, according to the Slovenian Minister of Infrastructure, Jernej Vrtovec.
“The shutdown was due to the automatic operation of the turbine protection, the first inspection showed no consequences, so safety has not been compromised,” he said in a tweet.
A spokesperson for the nuclear plant said that the shutdown is standard procedure in the event of a strong earthquake.
Krsko is Slovenia’s only nuclear power plant and was built in the former Yugoslavia and went into service in 1983.
It was shut down after a magnitude 6.4 quake struck the Croatian town of Petrinja on Tuesday, 50 kilometers from the capital Zagreb, where tremors were also felt.
Houses in Croatia were damaged and video footage showed people being pulled from the rubble.
On Monday another earthquake, of magnitude 5.2, hit central Croatia, some 50 kilometers southeast of Zagreb, also close to Petrinja.
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