Fire at Japan’s crippled nuclear plant, more aftershocks

TOKYO,  (Reuters) – Engineers were fighting a fire  at Japan’s crippled nuclear plant today as another major  aftershock rocked eastern Japan, swaying buildings in central  Tokyo and closing Narita airport runways.
Japan is considering raising the severity level of its  nuclear crisis to put it on a par with the Chernobyl accident 25  years ago, the worst atomic power disaster in history, Kyodo  news agency reported today.
Operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant,  240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, said on Tuesday that its  workers were fighting a fire near damaged reactor No. 4.
It was unclear how serious the fire was.
“Flames and smoke are no longer visible but we are awaiting  further details regarding whether the fire has been extinguished  completely,” said a spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co  (TEPCO) .
News of the fire came only minutes after a 6.3 aftershock  struck off the coast of Chiba, 77 km (48 miles) northwest of  Tokyo. Kyodo said Japan’s main international airport Narita  closed runways for checks but later resumed flights.
An aftershock measuring 6.6 quake hit Fukushima prefecture  on Monday evening temporarily cutting power and forcing workers  to evacuate the nuclear plant.
Japan’s Nuclear Industry and Safety Agency (NISA) said the  Fukusihima aftershock, which killed one man and knocked out  power to 220,000 households, did not damage the nuclear plant.