Report: No nuclear blast at Fukushima's No. 2 reactor

TOKYO, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Japanese officials investigating the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima power plant say a hydrogen explosion did not occur in the No. 2 reactor, a report says.

The panel, led by an executive at Tokyo Electric Power Co., overturned a previous conclusion that an explosion took place on March 15, four days after an 8.9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami devastated the region, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported Monday.

The finding was in a draft of the panel's interim report, the newspaper said.

TEPCO said the interim report will be submitted to a third-party verification committee before it is released publicly.

The first hydrogen explosion occurred in the No. 1 reactor building on March 12, followed by one at the No. 3 reactor on March 14. While TEPCO had initially said explosions at the No. 2 and No. 4 reactors occurred simultaneously on March 15, a seismometer at the plant found only one explosion tremor recorded that day. The panel has concluded the explosion occurred at the No. 4 reactor, the newspaper said.

The No. 2, reactor, however, did sustain serious damage, the report said.

The report said it appears a hydrogen explosion was avoided at the No. 2 reactor because a certain amount of hydrogen escaped through a blowout panel that opened accidentally after the No. 1 reactor's hydrogen explosion on March 12.