A great sink opened near Tokyo, swallowing a truck with a man inside, and now the race is underway to rescue him.
Japanese emergency services in Yashio City, Prefecture of Saitama, received calls just before 10 am local time on Tuesday morning that the The massive sink had appeared at an intersection occupied And a truck had immersed himself in the hole, according to CBS News.
A spokesman for the Fire Department told AFP that the sink is approximately the size of a pool and approximately 33 feet wide and 20 feet deep.
Rescue efforts have been trying to reach the man who was driving the truck, reports NBC News, but had to adjust its operations after a few hours like the The sink became more unstable.
The truck driver was “initially aware and capable of speaking,” reports the local media The Mainichi, and has been Caught in the driver's seat under mud and sand. Two rescuers suffered minor injuries after they ventured into the hole and the sediment fell on them.
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“Now, we are trying to see if we can lift the truck using a large crane,” the spokesman told AFP. “There is a risk that the collapse hole.”
Motohiro Ono, the governor of the Prefecture of Saitama, said at a press conference that they believe that the sink may have been caused by a sewerage pipe that extends from the nearby Nakagawa river basin.
“It is believed that it was caused by a crack in the sewerage pipe of the Nakagawa river basin. As a result of this collapse, a Passing the truck fell into“Said Ono, according to NBC News.
The Mainichi informs that the sediment surrounding the very corroded pipe is believed to flow to the pipe, which resulted in a hollow area under the road, which finally collapsed under the weight of the vehicles above.
According to the Nippon television station, the main approach is to rescue the driver, and report that rescue equipment has been pumping air through a hole in the sediment to help the more oxygen man, since he is increasingly surrounded by sediments
Until the moment of publication, the driver's status is not clear.
Aerial footage From the local broadcasters on Tuesday morning he showed dozens of response vehicles on the scene, which is located north of the capital of Japan, Tokyo.
There have been previous cases of sinks that open in Japan, causing chaos for drivers.
In 2016, an Olympic sink of the size of a pool opened in the streets of the center of Fukuoka, swallowing five lanes of a busy street and causing the evacuation of residents in nearby buildings. Fortunately, there were no injuries, but the incident cut the power, the water and gas supply to parts of the city.
And in September 2024, an underground water pipe in Hiroshima caused a sink when it exploded. Several people were trapped in nearby buildings and had to be rescued by the Fire Department.
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