Army helicopters have been dropping tonnes of seawater on nuclear reactors No. 3 and 4 to cool the overheating fuel rods and prevent a meltdown. But heightened radiation levels persisted past 10 a.m. local time (01.00 GMT), Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the plant, told Kyodo news.
A series of blasts and fires damaged four of Fukushima's six reactors after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan Friday (March 11), sparking a powerful tsunami and killing thousands.
(Published 17 March 2011, 10:11 IST)
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