Sweden on nuclear facility alert as explosives found at plant

Ringhals nuclear power plant in Varberg (Reuters / Scanpix Sweden)

Sweden has raised the alert at all its nuclear facilities after bomb sniffer dogs discovered an explosive device in the back of a truck near Stockholm’s Ringhals atomic power station. Police are investigating the incident.

Although the device lacked a detonator, officers have evacuated the area around the truck and are questioning the driver. Initial reports point to sabotage, with no immediate suspects.

Police spokesman Tommy Nyman said the driver was unaware of the explosives.

“An outsider has obviously placed them on the truck…we're talking to the truck driver and are trying to map out her movements within the premises throughout the day,” Nyman said.

Swedish bomb technicians noted that due to the lack of a detonator, there was no immediate risk of explosion. Furthermore, officials from the Ringhals power plant say that even had the explosives gone off, they would not have posed any threat to the reactor.

“Under the first step onto the truck there is a fire extinguisher and that is where the explosive had been placed,” Gosta Larsen, Head of Communication at the Ringhals plant, told the Swedish news source TT, adding that the discovery was “worrying”.

Officials say the device was like "the size of a small fist, shaped like a plastic explosive". It was discovered during a routine check.