Category - Japan
Driver Trapped Underground After Enormous Sinkhole Swallows Truck
An enormous sinkhole the size of a swimming pool swallowed up a truck with the driver still inside at a busy intersection in Japan this week.
According to NBC News, the incident unfolded around 10 a.m. local time on Monday morning, or 8 p.m. ET, when the 32-foot wide, 16-foot deep crater suddenly opened in Yashio, a city in the residential area of Saitama Prefecture, just outside Tokyo. The intersection where the sinkhole occurred is lined with restaurants and local businesses, and sits less than a mile from Yashio City Hall.
Local media reported that the driver was still trapped inside the vehicle nearly eight hours after the collapse. Rescue efforts were hampered by the driver’s seat being filled with sand and mud, and the front end of the truck stuck in dirt. Firefighters have deployed various crane and ropes, however the rescue operation is said to be dangerous due to the fragile walls of the sinkhole.
Rescue teams had been pumping oxygen into the hole, and earlier in the day, the driver was reportedly "conscious and capable" of communicating with police. But by later in the day, it was reported that rescuers were no longer able to speak with him.
As of Tuesday, the status of the driver remains unclear. In the meantime, authorities have shut down roads in the area out of precaution in the event of additional collapses.
Locals were apparently stunned by the sudden appearance of the sinkhole. "I could still see part of the truck at first, but then it kept sinking ... and sinking ... and then it was just gone," recalled one woman who heard a loud "boom" as the earth fell inward, per ABC News.
Added another bystander who was on his way to lunch when it happened: "I drive this road all the time. Now I don't know if it's even safe to use anymore."
Officials are said to be investigating the cause of the sinkhole, which is still unknown. Though, it's believed that underground pipes, recent weather, or construction may have contributed.
"It is thought to have been caused by a crack in the Nakagawa River Basin sewer pipe. As a result of this collapse, a passing truck fell in," said Saitama's governor Motohiro Ono at a press briefing on Tuesday, adding that rescuing the driver was the primary initiative.