Engineers in Japan have made progress to restore power to one of six nuclear reactors at the Fukishima plant that was crippled after the recent tsunami.

The news comes after a 5.9 earthquake hit the south of the Japanese nuclear plant while a growing army of international experts contine to in their struggle to bring Fukishima’s reactors and fuel rods under control. A record 252 aftershocks have been registered in the seven days following the 8.9 earthquake in Japan.

Fire trucks sprayed water for 3 hours on reactor number 3, which was considered to be the most dangerous at the Fukishima plant due to its use of mixed oxides including uranium and plutonium.

According to Yukio Edano, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, “the situation is stabalising somewhat”

A power cable has been attached outside a plant in an to cool overheating fuel rods via water pumps. The hope is that electricity will flow by tomorrow to four reactors in the complex.

Officials connected a power cable to the nunmber 2 reactor and planned to test power in reactors No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 tomorrow, according to reports.

If efforts fail, Japan has been considering a ‘Chernobyl solution’ which would involve burying the 40-year-old plant in sand and concrete to prevent a radiation release. The method, which was used after the Chernobyl crisis in 1986, would represent the worst case conclusion, leaving an area 150 miles north of Tokyo off limits.

Japan has raised the severity rating of the nuclear crisis to level 5 from 4 on the seven-level INES international scale.

Since the fatal 8.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan’s shore 8 days ago, shifting the earth’s axis, 7,197 people are thought to be dead and 10,905 people are missing. International travellers have been leaving the country in fear of exposure to radiation.