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Disaster in Japan: Latest developments, Mar. 19

March 20, 2011 / 1:58 AM EDT / CBS News

Latest update 12:50 a.m. EDT

In this image taken from footage released by the Japan Defense Ministry, a fire engine from the Japan Self-Defense Forces sprays water toward Unit 3 of the troubled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex on Friday, March 18, 2011. In the backgrounds is Unit 4. AP

* Japan's police agency now says that more than 8,000 people are dead and more than 12,000 are listed as missing after last week's earthquake and tsunami. A week after the disasters devastated the northeast coast, the National Police Agency said Sunday that the number of bodies collected so far stood at 8,133, while 12,272 people were listed as missing.

*Japan's nuclear safety agency says pressure is again rising in one of reactors at the country's tsunami-damaged nuclear complex a setback that means operators will have to vent more radioactive gas into the environment. Safety agency official Hidehiko Nishiyama said Sunday that efforts to put water in the Unit 3 reactor at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex might not have been working.

* Japan announced that conditions at the Unit 3 reactor of the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex have become "relatively stable" after a third day of hosing the plant, Kyodo News reports. After the operation, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa told reporters that temperatures at reactors 1 through 4 were lower than initially feared.

Complete Coverage: Disaster in Japan

* Government officials now say the tap water around Fukushima prefecture contains radioactive iodine within government safety levels. However, milk tested in the town of Kawamata exceeds safety limits for radioactive particles. Kawamata is 28 miles northwest of the nuclear plant.

* Japanese authorities report that radioactive iodine has been detected in tap water in Tokyo and five other prefectures, reports the Associated Press. A government ministry says the trace amounts are within government safety limits but usual tests show no iodine.

* Radiation has been detected in food - including spinach and milk - on farms near the crippled nuclear plant that exceeds government safety limits. Farms as far as 65 miles from Fukushima Dai-ichi reported radioactive contamination.

In this image taken from footage released by the Japan Defense Ministry, Japan Self-Defense Forces personnel talk before starting to spray water toward the Unit 3 of the troubled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex, Okumamachi, northeastern Japan, on Friday, March 18, 2011. Military fire trucks sprayed the reactor units Friday for a second day, with tons of water arching over the facility in attempts to prevent the fuel from overheating and emitting dangerous levels of radiation. (AP Photo/Japan Defense Ministry) EDITORIAL USE ONLY — In this image taken from footage released by the Japan Defense Ministry, Japan Self-Defense Forces personnel talk before starting to spray water toward the Unit 3 of the troubled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex, Okumamachi, northeastern Japan, on Friday, March 18, 2011. AP

*Japanese news agency Kyodo pulls report of man rescued after eight days in rubble after learning from his family that he returned home after staying in a shelter.

*Japan's police agency says nearly 7,200 are dead and more than 10,900 are missing after last week's earthquake and tsunami. A week after the disasters devastated the northeast coast, the National Police Agency said Saturday that 7,197 people died and 10,905 were missing.

Firefighter trucks go through a residential area in the tsunami-stricken town of Onagawa in Miyagi Prefecture Saturday, March 19, 2011, eight days after the town was slammed by a powerful quake-triggered tsunami. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE — Firefighter trucks go through a residential area in the tsunami-stricken town of Onagawa in Miyagi Prefecture Saturday, March 19, 2011. AP

* Shortly after midnight March 19, Tokyo time, hyper rescue troops in coordination with the Tokyo Fire Department began a water discharge at Unit 3. A TEPCO statement said the process went on for 25 minutes.

Tayo Kitamura, 40, kneels in the street to caress and talk to the wrapped body of her mother Kuniko Kitamura, 69, after Japanese firemen discovered the dead woman inside the ruins of her home in Onagawa, northeastern Japan Saturday, March 19, 2011. An 8.9-magnitude earthquake followed by a tsunami devastated the region on March 11. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) — Tayo Kitamura, 40, kneels in the street to caress and talk to the wrapped body of her mother Kuniko Kitamura, 69, after Japanese firemen discovered the dead woman inside the ruins of her home in Onagawa, northeastern Japan Saturday, March 19, 2011. AP

* Tokyo Electric Power Co said it had connected an external transmission line with the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant, confirming that electricity can once again flow to the stricken facility, according to Reuters. If the plant's cooling system is still operational, this new source of power could allow technicians to get the reactors under control and prevent meltdown.