Meltdown

Attempts to control the situation at Fukushima failed - with reactors 1, 2 and 3 all eventually going into full meltdown. In the days following the tsunami, explosions occurred at both reactor 1 and reactor 3, injuring emergency workers and releasing radioactive waste into the environment. Above, a plume of smoke is seen billowing from the number 3 nuclear reactor in a satellite image following the explosion.