The company ED, which owns the plant, has determined on Twitter that an explosion has occurred in the machines of the first reactor, in the "non-nuclear zone", in which the firefighters have confirmed the absence of fire. The first reactor is special to the power grid.

Two reactors have been in operation, one since 1986 and the other since 1987. A third one has been under construction since 2007 to be launched in 2018. It is said that the explosion was in the third, but not in the first. The authorities say there is no nuclear danger.

At 12:00 p.m., firefighters were still trying to control the flames burning in the center. Authorities report that one of the two reactors in operation as a result of the accident has been stopped.

The plant in Flamanville is the symbol of the French industry in recent years, where the improvements of the new generation reactors were announced for the 3rd reactor under construction. But the construction of this third reactor has become a crossroads full of accidents and surprises.

Flamanville is located in Normandy, near the city of Cherbourg.