The emergency services said on Thursday afternoon that a large fire at a decommissioned Dutch nuclear power plant had been brought under control.

There is no danger that radioactivity could leak because of the fire, officials said.

The fire apparently broke out on the roof of a building where work was being carried out. Some 10 gas bottles which were kept on the roof had not exploded, local broadcaster the Gelderlander said.

The Dodewaard plant in Gelderland went into production in 1969 and was in use until 1997. Built by the Dutch government, it was largely used for research purposes and had limited electricity output.

Part of the building has already been demolished and parts which are still radioactive have been sealed up. In 2045, the rest of the building will be taken down.