Workers Risk Their Lives to Regain Control
On March 15, the nuclear crisis escalated as officials and workers struggled to regain control over the damaged nuclear reactors after a new explosion and fire. The third blast in four days at the plant happened inside reactor No. 2 while reactor No. 4, which was not operational at the time of the earthquake, caught fire. Engineers at the plant, working at enormous personal risk, continued efforts to cool down No. 2, the most damaged reactor. Most of the 800 workers at the plant had been removed, leaving around 50 to use firefighting equipment in the continuing effort to keep the cores of three reactors cooled by pumping in seawater.