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90 pc Fukushima workers fled during 2011 crisis: Report

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ANI London

More than 90 percent of workers at Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan fled at the height of the meltdown crisis in 2011.

Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun said that the report was based on transcripts of interviews, which was stored in the prime minister's office until now.

According to the BBC, it differs from the account of the plant's operator, Tepco, which said that workers were told to leave.

The plant was damaged by a quake and tsunami and has faced multiple issues.

When disaster struck the plant three years ago, there were about 720 workers on the site. For three days, they struggled as one reactor after another began to meltdown.

 

But on the fourth day, the Asahi Shimbun said that 650 workers fled, leaving fewer than 70 employees to deal with the crisis.

According to the report, the report is based on more than 400 pages of transcripts of interviews prosecutors conducted with the former Fukushima plant director, Masao Yoshida, after the disaster.

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First Published: May 21 2014 | 2:13 PM IST

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