systems.
Several military helicopters flew over the damaged plant, each with a large bucket-like container below. The pilots had dragged the buckets in the ocean to pick up seawater. Each bucket carries 7.5 tons of water.
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Kenji Shimizu/AP
Self-Defense Forces helicopters scoop water off Japan's northeast coast on their way to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant Thursday morning. Helicopters are dumping water on a stricken reactor to cool overheated fuel rods inside the core.
The choppers made at least four passes. Images showed a shower of water dropping each time. Officials said some passes missed the target.
In addition, 11 water cannon trucks headed to the site to focus their efforts on reactor No.3, which was severely damaged in an explosion Monday, developed a new crack Wednesday and has sustained extensive melting of its fuel rods.
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Engineers were also trying to cool a pool at the plant that is filled with used fuel rods that are overheating.
On Wednesday, Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, told a congressional subcommittee that a new failure at one of the six reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant may make it impossible to keep the crippled plant from deteriorating further.
Jaczko said his agency
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