A third explosion occurred at the troubled nuclear complex in Japan, causing radioactive substances to be emitted from the facility and radiation levels outside the facility to jump to more than eight times permitted levels, Tokyo Electric Power officials said. In a nationally televised statement, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said radiation has spread from the four stricken reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant along Japan’s northeastern coast. The region was shattered by Friday’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that is believed to have killed more than 10,000 people, plunged millions into misery and pummeled the world’s third-largest economy.
