Underwater fence at Fukushima found damaged

Tokyo: The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), said Thursday that an underwater curtain was found damaged below the stricken complex, according to local media.

The curtain, called silt fence, was installed around an adjoining pair of water intakes of the plant's reactor numbers five and six, Xinhua reported.

There was no meltdown at these two reactors during the disastrous tsunami in March 2011 and the silt fence was installed to help contain radiation contamination.

Local reports said that a worker found a cut in the fence Thursday morning, adding TEPCO did not provide more details and is checking the impact of the crack.

TEPCO said it planned to repair the fence after an upcoming typhoon, according to Japan's Kyodo News.