Armed men attack convoy carrying nuclear fuel

Armed men have attacked a convoy of trucks carrying uranium fuel to a nuclear power plant near the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, police say.

Police and the company managing the plant said, the truck carrying the nuclear fuel and its police escort came under attack when it was passing by the town of Frade, about 30 km (19 miles) from Angra dos Reis, where the reactor is located.

Police escorting the convoy responded and a shootout followed. No-one was injured or detained.

Eletronuclear, the Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras SA subsidiary that manages the Angra nuclear plants, said in a statement that the uranium being transported was not dangerous and that the shipment was not delayed by the attack.

The convoy reached the Angra 2 plant safely 20 minutes after the attack.

The attack in the Rio-Santos highway is the latest in a series of violent incidents in an area popular with visitors.

The agency, however, said the convoy "had not been attacked by bandits" directly - it was passing in the area at the moment a shootout was happening.

Some bandits scared by the heavy police presence shot at a police vehicle in the convoy, it added in a statement.

Violence has increased in Angra dos Reis in recent years and heavily armed criminals are now present in once-peaceful communities, correspondents say.

Reports say the shootout in Frade was a result of fighting between rival gangs.

Angra dos Reis Mayor Fernando Jordão urged the state's government to improve security in the region. "We have nuclear plants here. It's a sensitive area."

The nuclear fuel used in the two reactors in Brazil, Angra 1 and Angra 2, is produced in a government installation in Resende, a city in the interior of Rio de Janeiro state located 130 km (80.78 miles) from Angra dos Reis.

Brazil only processes uranium to be used as fuel for power plants, under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.