Chernobyl to be 'extreme' tourism site

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KIEV, Ukraine, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Ukraine says it intends to attract "extreme" tourists to Chernobyl, site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, as part of an effort to develop its tourism.

Anatoliy Pakhlya, head of the Ukrainian State Service for Tourism and Resorts, said Ukraine wants to develop all types of tourism, RIA Novosti reported Friday.

"Tours to Chernobyl are extreme tourism," he said.

Plenty of curious people are looking for extreme adventures, he said.

"I think that the format of such tours can be expanded and, if we intensify our cooperation with the Emergencies Ministry, the number (of tourists) could be increased," Pakhlya said.

The explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 resulted in a highly radioactive fallout over an extensive area, and a 19-mile exclusion zone was introduced following the accident.

Extreme tours are also offered by Russia, where tourists can visit the infamous gulags and to experience being a prisoner, RIA Novosti reported.