Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Nuclear protest along River Elbe

Updated at 6:47 am on 25 April 2010

Germans have joined hands to form a human chain to protest against nuclear energy, two days before the 24th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in Ukraine.

Police in the Schleswig-Holstein region in northern Germany estimate more than 100,000 people took part in a human chain which stretched for 120km along the Elbe river through the port city of Hamburg.

The protest was also in opposition to proposals by the federal government to delay the closure of 17 nuclear power plants in Germany beyond 2020.

Nuclear reactors produce around 30% of German electricity.

Demonstrations were also held in other cities around Germany.

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred on 26 April, 1986, when a reactor exploded.

Parts of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus were contaminated by the fallout which also spread to other parts of Europe.

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