Search operation at Kakrapar nuke plant called off

SURAT: Authorities on Wednesday called off a massive search operation that was launched around the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) near Surat after reports of the sighting of two armed men, saying no intruders had been found.

The local police searched the area surrounding the nuclear plant for the second day on Wednesday for any suspicious persons or objects but found nothing, officials said.

"The search operation has been called off. Nothing suspicious was found around the high security premises. We also conducted searches using boats in the coastal area for anything alarming but nothing was found," Surat's Inspector General of Police G K Parmar said.

The search was launched on Tuesday after villagers reported seeing two armed men near the nuclear plant.

The CISF, which protects all nuclear installations in the country, had last night called off its search within the plant's premises.

Referring to the villager who had "spotted" the two suspicious men, Parmar said, "He has been maintaining what he said from the start and that is he saw two suspicious looking armed men moving near the premises. However, interrogation has revealed that he spotted the persons from a distance of 150 metres."