Japan on high nuclear alertOfficial says a partial meltdown is "highly possible" as police chief says death toll could top 10,000.
A partial meltdown is likely under way at one nuclear reactor, a senior Japanese official has said, as operators
franticallytried to keep temperatures down at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant'sother units following a devastating earthquake and tsunami that mayhave killed as many as 10,000 people.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters on Sunday that apartial meltdown in Unit 3 of the Fukushima facility was "highlypossible".
"Because it's inside the reactor, we cannot directly check it but weare taking measures on the assumption of the possible partialmeltdown," he said.
About 170,000 people have been ordered to evacuate the area covering a radius of 20km around the plant.
The Japanese prime minister said the current situation is the worst disaster the country has faced since the Second World War.