TOKYO: Technicians tested the radiation level of debris from inside a damaged reactor at Japan's Fukushima plant on Tuesday (Nov 5) after it was removed by a robot for the first time since the nuclear power station was hit by a tsunami in 2011.

Small sample to aid in planning the safe decommissioning of the nuclear plant, which contains an estimated 880 tons of highly radioactive molten fuel

More than 13 years after an earthquake-turned-tsunami triggered the second-largest nuclear accident in global history, a robot has snagged a piece of melted fuel from the fatally radioactive Fukushima reactor.

The sample was collected from a mound of molten fuel debris from the base of Fukushima's reactor number 2's primary containment vessel. The fuel sample was then transferred to an enclosed container after retrieval by workers in full HAZMAT gear.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco) has extracted the first sample of nuclear fuel debris from the containment vessel

The operator of Japan's Fukushima nuclear complex said it has moved a "pebble-like" piece of melted fuel just outside a reactor container as part of its attempt to retrieve the radioactive debris for the first time since the plant was damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex said Saturday it moved a tiny portion of melted fuel just outside a reactor container as part of its attempt to retrieve the debris for the first time since a nuclear disaster hit the plant over a decade ago.