Forest fire threatens Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear zone

An aerial view from a helicopter shows fire on the ground in northern Ukraine, April 28, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

KIEV - Emergency services were battling on Tuesday to prevent Ukraine's largest forest fire since 1992 from spreading towards the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said.

Earlier, the interior ministry had warned that high winds were blowing the fire in northern Ukraine towards Chernobyl, where in 1986 a reactor fire led to the world's worst nuclear disaster.

A 30 km (18.6 miles) exclusion zone remains in place around the plant, which remains contaminated by radioactive particles.