(MENAFN) A massive swarm of jellyfish caused a nuclear power plant in northern France to shut down, EDF, the facility’s operator, reported on Monday. The bloom clogged cooling system filters at the Gravelines plant, automatically halting four power units. The entire plant went offline, as two other units were already offline for maintenance.

EDF emphasized that the incident posed no threat to facility safety, personnel, or the environment, as the jellyfish only reached the non-nuclear sections of the plant. Teams are currently performing diagnostics and interventions to safely restart the units.

The Gravelines plant, which draws cooling water from a North Sea channel home to multiple jellyfish species, is one of France’s largest nuclear sites. With six units producing up to 900 megawatts each, the station can supply electricity to roughly five million homes. Such incidents of jellyfish clogging cooling systems have occurred at nuclear and conventional power facilities worldwide.

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