The catastrophe has already taken more 1600 lives as scene of devastation is growing.
According to Japanese media reports, an explosion occurred in the main reactor at Fukushima nuclear plant in northern Japan, 250 kilometres north of Tokyo, this afternoon leading to radiation leaks. Initial reports say that the leak has injured four people. So far, the authorities say, the steel container of the reactor itself has not been breached.
However officials fear a meltdown. Residents living within a 20-km radius of the leaking plant have been asked to evacuate their homes. Kyodo news agency reported that the plant is experiencing a nuclear meltdown. This has been confirmed by Japanese nuclear scientists confirmed, after Prime Minister Naoto Kan visited the site in a helicopter early today.
Reports said the main building of the plant housing the reactor and the outer walls were blown away in the high intensity explosion, which occurred at noon Indian Standard Time. The cooling water levels dropped alarmingly through evaporation after the quake had damaged the main plant. Jiji Press reported that the loss of cooling water is leading to a meltdown of the reactor.
TV footage showed smoke billowing from the site and reported that the reactor building had been destroyed. Nearby residents have been warned to turn off air conditioners and not to drink tap water.
People going outside were told to avoid exposing their skins and to cover faces with masks and wet towels.
Kyodo quoting police said that another nuclear plant adjacent to the one which exploded is also malfunctioning with the radiation level reaching almost 1000 times the normal level.
The authorities said, an emergency has been declared at all five nuclear reactors as the units had lost cooling ability, while rushed plane loads of coolants to the disaster struck nation. They said that Fukushima, Daiichi plant unit no. 1 had exploded after failing to bring down heat and pressure inside the reactor which had suffered extensive damaged due to tidal waves set off by the earth quake which cut down the power supply to the plant. Japan’s Nuclear Safety Agency described the situation at the Fukushima plant dire.
Defence Ministry officials said dozens of troops and fireman trained for chemical disasters have been dispatched to the plant, which is located South of the Miyagi Prefecture which was hardest hit by the quake. Despite Japan has strict set of regulations designed to limit the impact of quakes on nuclear plants,10 of the Japan’s 54 commercial reactors were shut down because of the quake.
Meanwhile, four trains running in a coastal area of Miyagi and Iwate prefectures remained unaccounted for. Train operator said it is not known how many people were aboard the trains that were running on East Japan Railway Co.’s Ofunato, Senseki and Kesennuma lines on the Pacific coast when the quake hit northern Japan. The company said earlier that another train on the Senseki Line was found derailed near Nobiru Station after the quake. The Miyagi prefectural police today rescued nine passengers from the train by helicopter.
The number of partially or completely destroyed buildings reached 3,400, while there were 200 fire incidents at quake-affected areas. Some 181 welfare facilities, including nursing homes, have been damaged.
As reported, around 200 to 300 bodies were found in Sendai, the closest town, which bore the brunt of the disaster. Some 1,800 houses in Fukushima Prefecture were found to have been destroyed.