An end to the nuclear accident caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan seems out of reach still for a while, as a high level of radioactivity was detected at a reactor in the troubled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on Sunday.

High radioactivity

More than 1,000 millisieverts per hour was found Sunday in the water at No. 2 reactor -- 10 million times the radioactivity level when the reactor is operating normally, and the contaminated water is believed to come from the damaged fuel in the reactor.

Japanese authorities also found that radioactive iodine-134 was extremely high in water at the reactor, and those working at the reactor were temporarily evacuated.

Radioactive iodine which is 1,850 times the legal limit was found in sea near the troubled plant, according to Kyodo. The level had surpassed the figure detected near the drain outlets of the plant Saturday, when the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency found radioactive iodine 1,250.8 times above legal limit in sea near the plant.

But there are also reports showing that a Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesperson said Sunday night that readings showing the increased radioactivity were "not credible."

According to the National Police Agency, the March 11 catastrophe has left 10,668 people dead and 16,574 others unaccounted for in Japan by 15:00 p.m. local time (0600 GMT) Sunday.