Swedish police release two men after nuclear scare

By Johan Ahlander

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedish police said on Thursday they had released two men who had been held on suspicion of planning to sabotage a nuclear power station.

Police detained two contract workers on Wednesday after one of them was stopped in a security check at the Oskarshamn nuclear plant, on the southeast coast of Sweden, with traces of a highly explosive material thought to be TATP.

TATP, or triacetone triperoxide, is extremely unstable, especially when subjected to heat, friction and shock.

Police issued a brief statement saying the two would remain under suspicion until after technical experts had concluded an investigation.

"Both men have been cooperative but they deny any wrongdoing and waived the right to legal counsel," the statement said. "There was no legal ground to hold them any longer."

Police were alerted early on Wednesday by the Oskarshamn plant. Oskarshamn is jointly owned by Germany's E.ON and Finland's Fortum.

Authorities sealed off a 300-metre (330-yard) area, called in explosives experts and worked with plant officials to determine any security risks through the day.

Plant authorities have said investigators had not found evidence of additional explosive materials beyond what was discovered on Wednesday.