Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has released footage of the interior of the reactor containment vessel of Unit 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which suffered an explosion accident during the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.

A view of the bottom of the pressure vessel in the reactor of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3 [Photo courtesy of TEPCO]  

According to local media reports on the 20th, TEPCO used a micro-drone to enter the containment vessel between the 5th and 19th of this month to film the condition of the internal pressure vessel and the melted nuclear fuel debris.

Kyodo News reported, "This is the first time the bottom part of the pressure vessel in a reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, where core meltdown occurred, has been filmed up close," adding, "The footage shows attachments and sediment that are likely to be nuclear fuel debris."

The Asahi Shimbun explained, "The bottom part of the pressure vessel appears to have melted, causing internal structures to fall downwards, and the footage captured clump-like attachments."

Based on the footage obtained, TEPCO plans to create a 3D map to be utilized for future full-scale debris removal operations.