Project manager will fly staff to Shanghai tomorrow after third explosion at nuclear plant

Turner & Townsend is evacuating its staff from Tokyo amid fears grew that the Japanese capital could be exposed to dangerous levels of radiation after a third explosion at a tsunami-hit nuclear power plant.

The project manager is flying its two staff from the city to Shanghai tomorrow as a precaution.

Barry Gater, T&T鈥檚 Shanghai office director, said that the firm was doing programme management for a car company, which has decided to leave the country as nuclear fears in Tokyo rise.

鈥淔ears over the nuclear cloud means that the client is relocating,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e are relocating our people to Shanghai tomorrow.鈥

He said that no buildings were under construction in the country at the moment, but that even working in the capital had become hard.

鈥淚t鈥檚 possible to get to work, but very difficult, and people are working at home. The power outages prevent people getting to the office, the number of trains are reduced,鈥 he said.

鈥淟ots of people in banks in Tokyo have been getting their people out on Monday and Tuesday.鈥

Gater added that T&T鈥檚 staff had felt the earthquake in their office, but that the decision to evacuate was over the subsequent nuclear danger and power shortages.

鈥淭he office was hit by the earthquake. The client and our staff were knocked to their feet.鈥

Both T&T employees are Australian nationals.