Drivers in a busy Sydney tunnel have witnessed a spray after a truck hit the overhead sprinklers this morning.

Footage shows the moment Sydney's Airport M5 tunnel's sprinkler system was activated after being bumped by the truck, sending water pouring onto the road below the airport tarmac.

Traffic conditions returned to normal shortly after the incident.

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Maintenance crews will now repair the damage outside of peak travel times.

A Transport for NSW spokesperson said repairs will have to take place outside of busy peak periods.

"Transport for NSW is advising motorists that all southbound lanes of General Holmes Drive at Mascot, including within the Airport Tunnel, are now open following an earlier incident involving the activation of the tunnel's overhead sprinkler system," the spokesperson said.

"The incident occurred about 5.15am this morning when a truck travelling in lane 1 struck multiple overhead sprinkler heads, causing the system to activate and resulting in the temporary closure of one southbound lane.

"Emergency services and Transport for NSW maintenance crews attended the scene promptly to assess and manage the situation.

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"All southbound lanes have since been safely re-opened, with no delays currently being experienced by motorists. The driver of the vehicle is assisting authorities.

"As a precautionary measure, the southbound sprinkler system within the tunnel has been isolated following the damage to infrastructure.

"Fire and Rescue NSW has been notified, and appropriate safety protocols have been implemented.

"Maintenance crews will undertake repair work to replace the damaged sprinkler heads outside of peak travel times, with works scheduled to occur tonight following further assessment.

"Transport for NSW thanks motorists for their patience and cooperation while crews responded to the incident and restored normal traffic conditions. Motorists are encouraged to continue to check Live Traffic for the latest updates."

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UK police say the ongoing investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is broad and could cover alleged sexual misconduct, as they made a fresh appeal for witnesses to come forward.

The update comes about three months after the former prince was arrested at his Sandringham home in February.

While he was released shortly after, police have continued their investigation into an allegation of misconduct in public office, after the US Justice Department released files that suggested he may have allegedly shared confidential information with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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In an update today, Thames Valley Police Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright told local media that misconduct in public office can cover a range of offences, including sexual misconduct and perverting the course of justice, as he appealed for fresh information from the public.

Police are reportedly concerned witnesses may believe investigators are only focusing on the allegation that Mountbatten-Windsor shared confidential information with Epstein.

"Misconduct in public office is a crime that can take different forms, making this a complex investigation," Wright said.

"Our team of very experienced detectives are working meticulously through a significant amount of information that has come in from the public and other sources.

"We are committed to conducting a thorough investigation into all reasonable lines of inquiry, wherever they may lead."

Mountbatten-Windsor was appointed as the UK trade envoy in 2001, a role in which he is alleged to have committed misconduct in public office.

Wright said police were also assessing reports a woman in her 20s was taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual misconduct.

The victim-survivor alleged to the BBC that Epstein had sent her for Mountbatten-Windsor.

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Wright said police are engaging with the woman's lawyer, but she has not yet reported the offence. 

Police acknowledged victim-survivors may be put off from coming forward due to the national and international focus but assured them the door is open whenever they are ready to come forward.

"In terms of Epstein victims and survivors, we hope that anyone with relevant information will come forward and I really want to stress that our door is open whenever a victim-survivor is ready to engage with us," Wright said.

"We're ready for you at whatever point that may be."

Police are working with the UK government and the US Justice Department to receive as much information as possible.

King Charles, in a statement after his younger brother's arrest earlier this year, said police had his "full and wholehearted" support and cooperation.

"Let me state clearly: the law must take its course," he said at the time.

Wright said the ongoing investigation will be thorough, lengthy and complex. 

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A record 274 climbers reached the summit of Mount Everest in a single day on Wednesday, as mountaineers rushed to take advantage of a brief stretch of clear weather on the world's tallest peak.

Nepalese officials confirmed a new record for Everest's southern route, with hundreds making the push toward the summit before conditions deteriorate later in the season.

Among them was 18-year-old Melbourne student Bianca Adler, who became the youngest Australian to summit Everest.

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"We just got news that Bianca is at the summit of Mt Everest!" her mother, Fiona Adler, wrote on the family blog on the day.

Hours later, Bianca shared an audio update while descending back down the mountain.

"I feel pretty awful," she said.

"I still have to go to camp 2. I'm just resting, just trying to take it one step at a time."

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYj2yMpScMV/

To avoid getting caught behind crowds in extreme cold, Bianca began the final stretch overnight while it was still dark.

Her mother described it as "a small price to pay for a safe and successful summit".

The Victorian teenager overtakes fellow Melbourne climber Gabby Kanizay, who previously held the record after summiting Everest at age 19 in 2022.

Bianca, a VCE student at St Leonard's College in Brighton East, has spent years climbing peaks across the Himalayas, Alps and Andes after growing up around the French Alps.

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Last year, she became the youngest female climber to summit Manaslu, the world's eighth-highest mountain.

Her Everest success comes less than a year after she was forced to turn back about five hours short of the summit due to brutal weather conditions.

Nepalese authorities said nearly 500 climbers and a similar number of Sherpa guides are expected to attempt Everest before the climbing season ends later this month.

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Convicted one-punch killer Kieran Loveridge has failed in his bid to protect his identity for two years, having said it would allow him to properly rehabilitate in the community.

The 32-year-old's sentence for the killing of Thomas Kelly on a drunken night out in Kings Cross expired on Sunday, and NSW was unsuccessful in its attempt to subject him to an extended supervision order for high-risk offenders.

NSW Supreme Court Justice Natalie Adams said, despite Loveridge's troubling history of drug use, there was not enough evidence to indicate he required the high level of supervision proposed by the state to integrate back into the community.

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Loveridge has been on parole since April 2024 and has only committed one offence in that time, a breach of a contact condition in an apprehended violence order.

While the 32-year-old may have had a win on extended supervision by corrective services and police, his concerns about media attention were not upheld by the court.

Kelly's 2012 death and Loveridge's subsequent case grabbed a significant amount of media coverage.

Kelly's manslaughter was one of several incidents that contributed to the introduction of "lock-out" laws in parts of Sydney to prevent alcohol-fuelled violence, Adams said in her judgment.

Loveridge's barrister, Kirsten Edwards SC, said his high media profile upon release led to incidents such as being photographed at a football game and while out in public with his nieces, which have been detrimental to his rehabilitation.

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"What makes this defendant special … is that there really aren't many defendants with his profile," Edwards said in a hearing to attempt to have her client's identity suppressed for two years.

"Our submission is that public safety is promoted through his rehabilitation."

But Adams declined to suppress his identity and said it was not adverse media attention but the birth of his child that brought the downturn in his condition.

"Mr Loveridge became overcome by shame that Mr Kelly would never have the opportunity to become a father as he had, and he commenced illicit drug use at this time," Adams said in her judgment.

The state's barrister, Henry El-Hage SC, also argued that the fact that Loveridge provided comments about his condition to The Daily Telegraph in 2024 went against his proposal that media attention was negative for his personal condition.

The state was ordered to pay Loveridge's legal costs in the supervision order case.

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