Fire at nuclear reactor after Japan quake; no risk of radiation leak

Agencies reported that two women, both in their 80s, have been confirmed dead at a hospital. They were brought to the hospital after getting injured in the quake.

A fire broke out at a nuclear power plant in central Japan Monday after a strong earthquake but there was no apparent risk of radiation leaks, officials said.

Television footage showed smoke billowing into the air from the power plant in the Kashiwazaki, close to the epicentre of the 6.6 Richter-scale earthquake in Niigata prefecture, Forbes online reported.

Tokyo Electric, which runs the plant, said the fire occurred at an area supplying electricity to the facility's four reactors. The nuclear reactors themselves were automatically shut down by the quake.

'The fire occurred at a transformer, which is not located close to the reactors,' said Yasushi Hasegawa, an official of the firm. 'We are now putting out the fire, but there is no immediate fear of radiation leakage.'

Japan, which has the world's second largest economy but virtually no natural energy resources, relies on nuclear plants for 30 percent of its power needs.

Dpa reported that an earthquake with a magnitude estimated at 6.6 on the Richter scale struck north-western Japan early Monday causing a fire at a nuclear reactor and shaking buildings as far away as Tokyo.

After the quake, which hit at 10:13 am (0113 GMT) and had an epicenter estimated at 10 kilometres underground in Niigata prefecture, 260 kilometres north-west of Tokyo, disaster officials quickly issued a tsunami warning for Sado Island on the Sea of Japan. It has since been lifter

There were reports of at least 20 people being brought to hospital and in the city Kashiwazaki, a city of 95,000 in Niigata, 10 houses collapsed, though it wasn't known if people were inside them, according to media reports.

Three nuclear reactors in the Niigata province were shut down automatically, with a fire breaking out in the electrical transformer of one of them. There were no reports of radioactive leaks.

High-speed trains have ceased operations.

Agencies