Rescue workers in Japan are battling water leaks, gas pipes and unstable ground as they attempt to reach a man whose truck fell into a sinkhole near Tokyo two days ago.
The hole, which is reportedly 10 metres across and 10 metres deep, opened up at an intersection in Yashio, Saitama prefecture, on Tuesday morning, swallowing the 74-year-old truck driver and his two-tonne vehicle.
The rescue mission took on new urgency on Thursday amid reports that water was seeping into the hole. Residents living within a 200-metre radius of the site have been told to evacuate due to concerns about an underground gas pipe in the area.
Attempts to retrieve the man, who has not been named by Japanese media, were temporarily halted in the early hours of Wednesday after a second sinkhole appeared. A video clip showed workers start to run for cover as a restaurant signboard and telegraph pole were swallowed by the second sinkhole.
The two holes have now joined to form a bigger gap in the road, the public broadcaster NHK said, as rescue attempts entered their third day.
Local officials believe the first collapse was probably caused by a ruptured sewage pipe, and the second by leaking wastewater that had loosened the surrounding soil, NHK added.
Firefighters work to rescue a truck driver after his vehicle was swallowed up by a sinkhole at a prefectural road intersection, in the city of Yashio, Saitama Prefecture on 28 January, 2025. Photograph: JIJI Press/AFP/Getty ImagesConcern is mounting for the man’s welfare. Media reports said he was initially able to talk to emergency workers soon after the incident, but did not respond when firefighters called out to him later the same day.
Water began accumulating in the hole on Wednesday morning, submerging the driver’s seat, the Asahi Shimbun reported, adding that the man’s condition was unknown.
The prefectural government decided to discharge wastewater into a nearby river in an effort to reduce the flow of water into the sinkholes, while 1.2 million residents in nearby towns and cities have been told to use less water.
It remains unclear when the sewage pipe will be fixed, the Mainichi Shimbun said, adding that the wastewater was being disinfected with chlorine before being released into the river.
Officials believe the first hole formed due to corrosion in the sewer pipe, which runs 10 metres below ground. They suspect soil and sand found their way into the pipe, creating a hollow that collapsed under the weight of vehicles.
“We can’t rule out the possibility of the sinkhole expanding,” the governor of Saitama prefecture, Motohiro Ono, told reporters on Wednesday.
Evacuated residents have been forced to spend the night a municipal government office and other facilities.
“I never thought the sinkhole would become so serious,” a local man told the Yomiuri Shimbun. Another said: “It’s worrying to think another sinkhole may form near my house. I may not be able to go home for a while.”