Shakes, smoke at devastated Japan n-plant

Mar 12, 2011 |

Agencies

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Tokyo: Japanese government officials said that there was shaking and a trail of white smoke at the nuclear plant in the area devastated by a massive earthquake.

Fukushima Prefecture official Masato Abe says the cause is still under investigation, and it was unclear whether there was an explosion.

Another official said the utility that runs the Fukushima Daiichi plant is reporting Saturday that several workers may have been injured.

One reactor at the plant is facing a possible meltdown after its cooling system was knocked out.

Earliera radioactive cesium had been detected near Japan's quake-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

The detection near the plant, which is located about 250 km northeast of Tokyo, indicated a reactor meltdown about to occur, officials at the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said on Saturday.

According to an earlier report, the operator of the nuclear plant opened the valves of the containers housing the reactors to reduce pressure, a move that led to the release of a small amount of radioactive steam.

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