The company that operates the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, says it has managed to remove a 20-ton fuel handling machine from one of the plant’s reactors. <br /><br /> The Tokyo Electric Power Company, TEPCO, said the operation in reactor three took months of preparation. <br /><br /> The machine was lifted from the the spent fuel pool using two 600-ton cranes. <br /><br /> TEPCO said its removal clears the way for removing the rest of the 514 spent fuel assemblies in the pool.<br /><br /> The Fukushima nuclear plant was extensively damaged as a result of a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. <br /><br /> The company has faced a stream of legal cases and compensation claims over the disaster and some of its executives at the time could still face charges. <br /><br /> Tens of thousands of people are still in temporary housing four years after the accident.
