By staff writers
- NewsCore
- March 15, 2011
A FIRE is burning at the No.4 nuclear reactor at Japan's stricken Fukushima No. 1 power plant, Prime Minister Naoto Kan confirmed today, warning that dangerously high levels of radiation are leaking from the area.
Delivering a message to the nation, Kan said people within a 20km radius of the plant should evacuate, while those a further 10km away should keep indoors and shut windows.
Authorities said they were doing everything possible to extinguish the fire at the No.4 reactor as the crisis engulfing the nation's nuclear industry following Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami worsens.
The blaze comes after explosions at the No.1 and No.3 reactors at the Fukushima plant, which is about 240km north of Tokyo, over the weekend, and a further blast at the No.2 reactor this morning.
"Radiation has spread from these reactors and the level seems very high," Mr Kan warned, with officials confirming the levels posed a threat to human health.
Mr Kan said people still working at the plant were putting themselves in a very dangerous situation in a bid to stop any more explosions or leaking of radiation.
"I would like to ask the nation - although this is an incident of great concern - I request that you act very calmly," he said.
Earlier, officials confirmed a blast had hit the No.2 reactor at 6.10am local time tosday.
The explosion was described as "huge" by a spokesman for the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and workers were evacuated from the reactor area, according to the Jiji news agency.
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