Japanese nuclear plant accident kills four.

(From Belfast Telegraph)

Byline: David McNeill

Japan's nuclear power industry, already reeling from a string of scandals, is again coming under criticism following a plant accident yesterday that killed four workers and injured seven others.

The workers, employed by a subcontracting firm responsible for maintenance, were hit with steam from a hole in a pipe inside the Number 3 reactor at the Mihama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture. The reactor is almost 30 years old and the plant had experienced another serious accident in 1991.

Japanese television showed pictures last night of the burst and rusted pipe, which carried water at high …