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New blaze erupts at Japan’s Fukushima NPP

16 March 2011 03:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A new fire started at Japan’s quake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant early on Wednesday, Kyodo news agency reported citing the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.
The previous fire at the 4th reactor of the plant early on Tuesday resulted in the leak of radiation and raised concerns about possible radioactive fallout.
According to Tokyo Electric Power, the new blaze in the outer housing of the containment vessel broke out because the initial fire had not been fully extinguished. Teams of firefighters are trying to put out the blaze.
Similar blasts previously ripped through reactors No. 1, 2 and 3.
Radiation levels spiked around the plant on Tuesday morning, but appeared to subside in late afternoon.
The government evacuated all residents within a 20 kilometer radius of the Fukushima plant, and announced a no-fly zone over the plant to avoid the spread of radiation.
Fears of a large-scale nuclear disaster remain high in Japan as the country continues relief operations following a devastating earthquake and tsunami that have killed at least 3,000 people and left thousands missing.