Drone strike triggers fire near nuclear plant in UAE

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates, UAE, have said that a drone strike triggered a fire near a nuclear power station in the emirate of Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

The Ministry of Defence stated this, stressing that the drone that targeted the facility was one of three that entered the country from the western border direction.

According to the ministry, the projectile struck an electrical generator outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the Al Dhafra area.

“Investigations are ongoing to determine the source of the attacks, and updates will be disclosed upon completion of the investigations,” the ministry said.

DAILY POST reports that the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant began operations in 2020 and is 200 kilometres (120 miles) west of the UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi, near the borders with Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

It provides up to a quarter of the oil-rich country’s electricity needs, the state-owned operator Emirates Nuclear Energy Company said in 2024.