Rescue Efforts Intensify for Driver Trapped in Sinkhole Near Tokyo
Rescue teams in Yashio, Saitama prefecture, Japan, are racing against time to save a 74-year-old truck driver trapped in a large sinkhole since January 28. The sinkhole, measuring approximately 10 meters across and 10 meters deep, opened suddenly at an intersection, swallowing the driver and his two-ton vehicle. According to media reports, initial contact with the trapped man has ceased as water has begun to accumulate in the hole, raising concerns for his condition.
Rescue efforts faced setbacks, including a second sinkhole formation on January 30, which merged with the first hole. Local authorities have evacuated residents within a 200-meter radius due to potential hazards posed by an underground gas pipe. Motohiro Ono, the governor of Saitama prefecture, expressed concerns about the possibility of further collapses, attributing the initial sinkhole to a ruptured sewage pipe.
In reaction to the ongoing crisis, local officials have begun discharging wastewater into a nearby river, affecting approximately 1.2 million residents instructed to conserve water while emergency services continue their operations.
