Rescue teams in Japan are facing numerous challenges, including water leaks, gas pipes, and unstable ground, as they work to reach a man whose truck plunged into a sinkhole near Tokyo two days ago.
The sinkhole, reportedly measuring 10 meters in both width and depth, suddenly appeared at an intersection in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Tuesday morning, swallowing the 74-year-old truck driver and his two-ton vehicle.
On Thursday, the urgency of the rescue operation increased amid reports of water seeping into the hole. Authorities have ordered residents within a 200-meter radius to evacuate due to concerns over a nearby underground gas pipe.
Efforts to reach the man, who has not been identified by Japanese media, were temporarily halted early Wednesday when a second sinkhole emerged. A video captured the moment when rescue workers rushed for cover as a restaurant signboard and a telegraph pole were consumed by the newly formed hole.
According to public broadcaster NHK, the two sinkholes have since merged into a larger cavity in the road, complicating rescue efforts now in their third day.
Local officials suspect that the initial collapse was triggered by a ruptured sewage pipe, while the second may have been caused by leaking wastewater weakening the surrounding soil, NHK reported.
Concerns are mounting over the man’s condition. Initial reports indicated that he was able to communicate with emergency responders shortly after the incident, but he later became unresponsive when firefighters called out to him the same day.
By Wednesday morning, water had begun accumulating in the sinkhole, submerging the driver’s seat, according to the Asahi Shimbun. The man’s current condition remains unknown.
Massive Rescue Operation For Man Trapped in A Sinkhole
To reduce water flow into the sinkholes, the prefectural government opted to discharge wastewater into a nearby river. Meanwhile, 1.2 million residents in surrounding towns and cities have been urged to conserve water.
It is unclear when the damaged sewage pipe will be repaired, the Mainichi Shimbun reported, adding that the wastewater is being disinfected with chlorine before being released into the river.
Officials believe the first sinkhole developed due to corrosion in the sewer pipe, which runs 10 meters underground. They suspect that soil and sand gradually infiltrated the pipe, forming a void that eventually collapsed under the weight of passing vehicles.
“We cannot rule out the possibility of the sinkhole expanding,” Saitama Prefecture Governor Motohiro Ono told reporters on Wednesday.
Evacuated residents have been forced to take shelter in municipal government offices and other temporary facilities.
“I never imagined the sinkhole situation would become this severe,” a local resident told the Yomiuri Shimbun. Another evacuee expressed concern, saying, “It’s unsettling to think another sinkhole might open near my house. I may not be able to return home for some time.”
