Second blast at Japan nuclear plant

A second explosion has rocked Japan's stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex, sending a plume of smoke into the air and touching off fresh concerns of a radioactive leak in the quake and tsunami-hit country.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Monday that the reactor had not been damaged.

The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co [TEPCO], said in a press release that the blast was believed to be a hydrogen explosion at the plant's No.3 reactor and that 11 workers were injured. The first explosion happened at the same plant on Saturday, at the reactor No. 1.

TEPCO said that the impact of radioactive materials to the outside environment is under investigation.

However, Yukio Edano, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, said that a large-scale radiation leak was unlikely. Edano said the reactor's inner containment vessel holding the nuclear fuel rods was intact, allaying some fears of the risk to the environment.

Al Jazeera’s Florence Looi said the cooling system at reactor No. 2 also failed, leading to a build-up of pressure in the containment vessel - the same problem units one and three encountered before they exploded.

Meanwhile, at Fukushima plant, the work to cool the reactors with a mixture of seawater and boric acid continues – an untested method, underscoring the desperate nature of the situation.

'No possibility of a Chernobyl'

Japan's nuclear safety agency said there is "absolutely no possibility of a Chernobyl" style accident at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, Koichiro Genba, the national strategy minister said, as quoted by Jiji Press.

The minister made the comment citing the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency at a meeting of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.

Meanwhile, a US aircraft carrier deployed for relief efforts has repositioned after detecting low-level radiation from a malfunctioning nuclear power plants, a US statement has said.



People around the area, already ravaged by the earthquake and tsunami, are worried at the prospects of nuclear radiation.

"I am due to give birth soon, I want to know exactly what is going on at the nuclear plant. I am scared," said one woman.

Twenty people have tested positive for radiation exposure and that number looks likely to rise.

The humanitarian crisis is deepening too, with thousands of people still missing as a result of Friday's 8.9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami.



Foreign aid has begun to arrive and some 70 countries have offered assistance, with help coming not only from allies like the United States but also countries with more strained relations like China.

A US naval ship is being used to help send out supplies and an aircraft carrier is also on its way to help.

According to media reports, rescue workers on Monday found two thousand bodies in Miyagi province, one of the hardest hit regions, while in the city of Rikuzen-takata 18,000 people are still missing.

Millions of people spent a third night without water, food or heating in near-freezing temperatures along the devastated northeastern coast.

In many areas there is no running water, no power and four- to five-hour waits for gasoline. People are suppressing hunger with instant noodles or rice balls while dealing with the loss of loved ones and homes.

“People are surviving on little food and water. Things are simply not coming,'' Hajime Sato, a government official in Iwate prefecture, said.

Meanwhile, a tsunami alert, which had sparked alarm and local evacuation orders, has been lifted, according to an official in the Fukushima prefecture.

"There is no more fear of a tsunami at this moment, but we will continue to ask our residents to remain vigilant to future advisories," the official said.

And the Japanese markets, which opened for the first time since the disaster occurred, reacted badly.

Share prices dropped sharply by more than five per cent within the first hour of trading on Monday. Moving quickly to try to keep financial markets stable, the Bank of Japan said it will inject approximately $183bn into the money market to try to bring some stability.