In Japan, workers are close to restoring power at a quake-stricken nuclear power plant. Officials said engineers are expected to connect a new power line to four of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, north of Tokyo today. The earthquake and tsunami it triggered crippled the plant's cooling systems, raising concerns over radiation leaks. Firefighters have continued to spray water to cool the fuel rods at the Fukushima plant, in a desperate attempt to avert a meltdown. The storage pools need a constant source of water to cool the rods. Engineers have now connected a power cable to the outside of the plant. Further cabling is under way inside to try to restart water pumps in four of the six reactors. Workers are also boring holes in roofs to prevent a potential gas explosion. Yesterday, officials raised the alert level at the plant from four to five on a seven-point international scale of atomic incidents. The death toll from the March 11 disaster has risen to at least 7,200. About 11,000 more remain missing. Meanwhile it emerged that a young man who was believed to have been pulled from the rubble had in fact returned to his ruined home from an evacuation centre. Meanwhile, about 67 people have been exposed to radiation in Fukushima prefecture following leaks of radioactive substances from the troubled nuclear plant. Local media reports said the authorities detected radioactive substances on their shoes and clothes after having conducted radiation checks on 42,440 people at 13 locations in the prefecture. They said, however, the dose of radiation was not high enough to pose any threat to their health.