BREAKING: New Fire At Building With Spent Fuel, Nuclear Reactor

Unit 4 again ablaze after fire that left 2 workers missing; Units 5, 6 also eyed

TOKYO — The world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl rose to a new level Wednesday as another fire erupted at Japan's stricken nuclear complex and engineers worried about the possibility of blasts at two other reactor buildings. In addition, two workers were reported missing after an earlier fire.

The new fire broke out Wednesday morning at Unit 4 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. It was inside the structure covering the containment vessel for the unit's nuclear reactor, Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Hajimi Motujuku said.

A blast and fire at Unit 4 nearly 24 hours earlier opened two holes in the outer building, emitting radiation from overheating spent fuel in a storage pool.

Two workers inside the unit were missing after the first fire, Japan's nuclear safety agency said. The status of the nuclear reactor inside the building was not known.

Officials were also concerned about the reactors in Units 5 and 6.

"Plant operators were considering the removal of panels from units 5 and 6 reactor buildings to prevent a possible buildup of hydrogen," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement.

"It was a buildup of hydrogen at units 1, 2, and 3 that led to explosions at the Dai-ichi facilities in recent days," it added.

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