Engineers enter Fukushima reactor for first time

Engineers entered one of the damaged reactor buildings at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant yesterday for the first time since it was crippled by an earthquake and tsunami two months ago.

Tokyo Electric Power Co said workers are connecting ventilation equipment in Unit 1 in an attempt to absorb radiation from the air inside the building. The utility must lower radiation levels inside the reactor before it can proceed with the key step of installing a cooling system that was knocked out by the disaster that struck north-eastern Japan on 11 March.