Kathmandu, April 9: Newspapers in the capital Monday continued to give widespread front-page coverage on the attempt by doctors in Singapore to separate the 11-month-old Nepali Siamese twins Ganga and Jamuna.

Reports from Singapore Monday morning said the marathon operation which began Friday was likely to continue into the fourth day. The procedure was originally expected to last 40 hours. The girls are joined at the top of the head and face different directions.

They share a single skull cavity and their brains are partially fused. The condition is rare, but four similar operations have been previously performed, reports said. People here and members of the Nepali community in Singapore are financing the operation at Singapore General Hospital.

The twins were born at the Prashuti Griha in Kathmandu. Noted neurosurgeon Dr Upendra Devkota referred the case to doctors in Singapore. The twins have been in Singapore for the last six months to prepare for the surgery. They travelled there with their parents from suburban Kathmandu.