India advises its nationals return from radiation-hit Japan

New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) With the accident severity level
at the nuclear plant in Japan raised, India has advised its
nationals that those who wish to "temporarily and voluntarily"
return home from Tokyo or other affected areas may do so.
"Taking the totality of circumstances into consideration,
the Ministry is of the opinion that those Indian nationals,
especially family members who wish to temporarily and
voluntarily return home from Tokyo or other affected areas,
may do so," the ministry said in a release here.
It said the help lines at the Embassy of India in Tokyo
are open for any information or assistance.
Meanwhile, there is a steady flow of Indians from Japan
with Air India already bringing in over 1,600 Indians from the
quake and tsunami-hit country and the total numbers crossing
more than 6,000.
Air India has deployed 423-seater Boeing 747 to bring
more people from March 16.
The accident severity level at the plant was raised from
four to five on the 7-point international scale by Japan's
Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, placing the crisis two
levels below Ukraine's 1986 Chernobyl disaster, a week after
the magnitude 9 quake and massive tsunami had rocked the
country leaving over 17,000 people dead or unaccounted for.