VIENNA, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Thursday that the agency will continue investigating the cause and impact of last month's fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP).
"We will continue to closely look into this matter to try to establish what happened and what the consequences will be," IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said in a statement following his visit to ZNPP, where he examined the cooling tower damaged by fire on Aug. 11.
Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for the incident. Russia accused Ukraine of a drone attack, while Ukraine said Russian "negligence" or arson may have sparked the fire.
Noting that he saw "significant damage on the interior walls, debris and blackened surfaces" inside the cooling tower, Grossi said: "It is clear that the cooling tower was damaged by the fire, and may need to be demolished."
The IAEA chief noted that while the fire did not endanger nuclear safety at ZNPP, it underlined the persistent safety risks at the facility.
Grossi also reiterated the IAEA's commitment to preventing nuclear accidents.
During his visit to Ukraine this week, Grossi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev and pledged to step up IAEA's assistance to Ukraine to protect the country's vital energy infrastructure, which has been increasingly targeted in recent attacks. ■