TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex said Thursday it successfully retrieved a small amount of melted fuel from the No. 2 reactor damaged in the massive earthquake and tsunami disaster that struck northeastern Japan in March 2011.

It is the first time Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. has removed melted fuel from one of the reactors at the Fukushima plant, a task viewed as the largest hurdle in the decades-long process of decommissioning the complex.

The operator said it collected an amount of melted fuel with a gripper on the tip of a telescopic device. An estimated 880 tons of fuel debris remain in the Nos. 1, 2, and 3 reactors, which experienced core meltdowns during the nuclear crisis.

The sample extracted from the bottom of the No. 2 unit's containment vessel will be placed in a container for transport before being sent for analysis at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency's facility in neighboring Ibaraki Prefecture.

The size and weight of the retrieved debris are expected to be determined by a piece of sealed equipment called a "glovebox" inside the building housing the No. 2 reactor. TEPCO planned to extract debris measuring 5 millimeters and weighing 3 grams or less.

The retrieval operation resumed on Oct. 28 after suspensions earlier this year due to worker errors and a glitch that disabled cameras attached to the device. TEPCO had initially hoped to begin the process in 2021.