Published: 10 May, 2011, 11:43
RT
Local residents of Kawauchi village, who lived within 20km area from the stricken nuclear power plant and were evacuated to Koriyama city, prepare to board buses in protection suits to return to their homes (AFP Photo / Jiji Press)
More than 90 evacuees from the 20-kilometer no-go zone around the Fukushima nuclear power plant have been allowed to return to their homes to gather personal possessions.
The 92 residents of 52 households of Kawauchi village have been allowed a two-hour trip to the dangerous zone on Tuesday, local media report.
All of them had to sign a responsibility waiver ahead of the visit. They donned protection gear before venturing into the exclusion zone.
They could remove a handbag-worth of items, including jewelry, money or family photos. All of them passed a safety inspection after the trip.
Meanwhile, the operator of the Fukushima plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co, has asked the government for financial aid to deal with the consequences of the disaster.
In the request, TEPCO President Masataka Shimizu called for government help in paying the US$600 million compensation to victims of the nuclear incident, reports Kyodo news agency.
The Fukushima nuclear power plant suffered from the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11. It resulted in partial meltdown at the plant and the release of radiation into the environment in one of the worst-ever incidents of this kind in history.
TAGS: Natural disasters, Nuclear, Japan
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