A handful of "heroes" working to avert a total meltdown at Japan's crippled nuclear plant have told loved ones not to expect them to return home.
The Japanese media have dubbed the elite squad of 180 technicians the "Samurai Warriors" and even the "Nuclear Ninjas" as they try to save their country.
Police officers wore protective suits as they drove near the nuclear plant.
One man, having already been exposed to dangerous levels of radiation, told his wife: "Please continue to live well, I cannot be home for a while." Nuclear experts have said the men are on a suicide mission and that not even their airtight suits can save them from contamination. And if they survive, they will face a lifetime of health problems.