Floating antidisaster base heads for Osaka

SAKAIDE, Japan - The ''Minifloat'' antidisaster offshore base, a 6,900-ton transportable floating platform, leaves Sakaide, Kagawa Prefecture, western Japan, where it was built, on March 13 for Osaka. The 80-meter x 40-meter platform is capable of docking ships of around 2,000 tons, serving as a large-scale heliport, and carrying enough food and water supplies for 100,000 disaster victims.