TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s transport ministry says it has imposed a no-fly zone over a 20-mile (30-kilometer) radius around the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
Ministry spokesman Hiroaki Katsuma said the decision was made Tuesday because of fears that radioactive particles leaking from the complex into the atmosphere could enter passing aircraft.
The no-fly zone does not apply to helicopters that may be deployed to spray water over a reactor where a spent fuel storage pool is feared to be overheating.
Officials are struggling to address the failure of safety systems at several of the plant’s reactors after Friday’s earthquake and tsunami.
