Russia has delivered the core catcher for Unit 2 of the Akkuyu nuclear power station under construction in southwest Turkey, state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom said.

The core catcher – also known as a core melt localisation device or core trap – is designed to catch the molten core material, or corium, of a nuclear reactor in the event of a nuclear meltdown and to prevent it from escaping the containment.

Rosatom said the core catcher delivered for the Generation III+ VVER-1200 plant is 5.8 metres high, 6.1 metres in diameter and weighs 169 tonnes.