Huge Sinkhole Swallows 74-Year-Old Man in Japan

Rescue operations are continuing through the day in Japan after emergency workers received an alert when a 74-year-old truck driver went missing with his truck when it disappeared into a big sinkhole that appeared on a busy road there. The 40-meter or 130 feet in diameter has reportedly been described to have caused since Tuesday because it is deemed that corroded sewage pipes resulted in the appearance of the gaping hole. “

Mentioning the local fire chief Tetsuji Sato said, “It is an extremely dangerous condition.” He also stated that the rescuers are preparing a ramp from a safe side to take the heavy machinery close to it. The hole measures about 10 meters or 30 feet in depth and keeps expanding that forces the asphalt boulders down into the deep hole and making it highly perilous for any rescue effort.

The soil around the sinkhole is still eroding, and the rescuers can hardly stay inside it for more than a few hours. The truck cabin of the driver is covered with soil and debris, and there has been no communication with him since Tuesday. Groundwater has been leaking into the hole, which has caused further caving into the hole.

The sinkhole, which initially started out at around five meters wide, has since merged with another cavity, increasing the danger. Residents of the area, home to 1.2 million people, have been asked to reduce their water use to avoid complicating the situation, especially concerning leaking sewage.

Takuya Koroku, a factory worker at a local facility, expressed his worry: “It feels rather abnormal that the search is taking this long. I wonder if he could’ve been saved much sooner. I’m scared to go nearby,” he said.