Lightning strike forces emergency shutdown of Armenia's Metsamor plant

A lightning strike shut down the Metsamor nuclear power plant, the only nuclear power plant in Armenia, which is located about 25 kilometres from Yerevan.

Reuters reports on the event. The lightning strike occurred on Friday evening at 6:00 PM ET, and "safety systems triggered an emergency shutdown of the power plant," according to the Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. The facility was disconnected from the grid.

The ministry stated that power plant workers are currently working on restarting it.

Metsamor is under the supervision of the government of Armenia.

Currently, one of the plant's two reactors is operational, which started in 1976. Metsamor produces about 35 percent of Armenia's electricity.