TOKYO (Reuters) – The operator of the nuclear power plant at the center of a radiation scare after being disabled by Japan's earthquake and tsunami confirmed Tuesday that there had been meltdowns of fuel rods at three of its reactors.

Tokyo Electric Power Co said meltdowns of fuel rods at three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant occurred early in the crisis triggered by the March 11 disaster.
The government and outside experts had said previously that fuel rods at three of the plant's six reactors had likely melted early in the crisis, but the utility, also known as TEPCO, had only confirmed a meltdown at the No.1 reactor.
TEPCO officials said a review since early May of data from the plant concluded the same happened to reactors No.2 and 3.
The preliminary finding, which was reported to Japan's nuclear safety agency, represents part of an initial effort to explain how events at Fukushima spiraled out of control early in the crisis.
Also Tuesday, the government appointed Yotaro Hatamura, a Tokyo University professor of engineering who has studied how complex systems and designs fail, to head a committee that will investigate the cause and handling of the nuclear crisis.