Japanese engineers have brought the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to a cold shutdown condition, nine months after the earthquake and tsunami. The Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda made the announcement at a nuclear task-force meeting.

Declaring a cold shutdown condition is seen as a key milestone in efforts to bring the plant under control. But the government says it will take decades to dismantle it completely.

The six-reactor Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was badly damaged by the 11 March earthquake and tsunami. Blasts occurred at four of the reactors after waves knocked out vital cooling systems.