Fire at Japan nuclear plant but no leak

TOKYO, Mar 22 (Reuters) A fire broke out at a nuclear power plant in western Japan today, but plant operator Kansai Electric Power Co.

said there was no radioactive leak.

A Kansai Electric spokesman said a waste disposal facility of the No. 3 and No. 4 nuclear power generation units at its Oi plant in Fukui prefecture had caught fire. He did not know whether the fire had yet been extinguished.

An official at Fukui prefecture said that two people had been taken to hospital after inhaling smoke.

The generation units were unaffected by the fire and were operating normally, the Kansai Electric spokesman said. Each has a capacity to generate 1.18-million kilowatts of electricity.

REUTERS DKS PC1748