Five households in the immediate vicinity of a massive, ever-widening sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, were urged to evacuate Sunday, with efforts to rescue a man stuck inside reportedly halted.
A 74-year-old truck driver was swallowed Tuesday by the cavity which has since expanded to 40 meters across -- almost the length of an Olympic swimming pool.
The growing hole could be the result of corroded sewerage pipes, according to local authorities.
Requests were issued Sunday for five households near the sinkhole to take shelter, a local government official told AFP.
This is in addition to other residents within a 50-meter radius of the cavity who are also being encouraged to evacuate, he said.
On Saturday, Japanese rescuers completed building a 30-meter slope to send heavy equipment and reach the truck driver.
But a good amount of sewage water was discovered underneath the slope, which, combined with rain, led to the rescue mission being suspended Sunday, public broadcaster NHK said.
With the walls of the hole -- around 15 meters deep, according to NHK -- eroding, rescue workers are unable to stay inside it for long.
The hole was initially around five meters in diameter but combined with a larger cavity that opened during the rescue operation on Tuesday night.
Around 1.2 million people living nearby have so far been asked to cut back on showers and laundry to prevent leaking sewage from hindering the operation.
© 2025 AFP
9 Comments
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Sanjinosebleed
Very sad for the truck driver and his family.
The Avenger
Very tragic.
You can watch the truck driver getting swallowed into the sinkhole here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-ZaYSfSodg
Viewer Discretion is Advised:
The_Beagle
So the old fella didn't make it. So sad.
Fighto!
Tragic news. Rest in Peace to the poor truck driver. At 74, still working while no doubt some of his peers were enjoying retirement.
Wishing the best for the workers at the site.
DanteKH
Can someone explain please what happened to the truck driver, why cannot be found or why wasn't he in the truck cabin? Even if he tried to free himself, was he swaled by the sewage system there?
Are there any hypothesis on what might happened to him?
wallace
The truck driver is deceased but it must be stressful to his family that his body has not been recovered.
dobre vam zajebava
sad story.
to be at wrong place at wrong time.
WoodyLee
""The hole was initially around five meters in diameter but combined with a larger cavity that opened during the rescue operation on Tuesday night.""
This soul could have been rescued and saved within the first 12 to 18 hours if this entire medium or small sized truck was hooked and pulled or even air lifted and before the cabin got filled with mud and buried.
Cables could have been attached to the truck from as far and safe as possible to stop it from sinking then rescuers could have been lowered from the air or by a hoist if possible to free the man.
Bad so called rescue, if not the worst.
WoodyLee
RIP SIR, someone let you down.