Japanese rescuers suspend search for truck driver who plunged into sinkhole days ago
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A 1,800kg truck plummeted into a sinkhole in Japan's Saitama prefecture on Jan 28. The driver has been stuck underground since then.
PHOTO: AFP
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Efforts to rescue a 74-year-old lorry driver after his vehicle plunged into a sinkhole that opened up near Tokyo on Jan 28 have been suspended again, according to Japanese media.
The authorities said on Jan 30 that additional cave-ins at the sinkhole in Saitama prefecture have made the area dangerously unstable. The first collapse happened at 9.50am local time on Jan 28 in the city of Yashio and created a chasm about 5m wide and 10m deep, according to The Japan Times.
The 1,800kg vehicle plummeted into the sinkhole and the driver has been stuck inside since then. Efforts to free the driver using a crane began on Jan 28 but were halted when a nearby section of the road caved in in the wee hours of Jan 29.
While the authorities managed to remove the lorry’s cargo bed on Jan 29, the driver remained underground. According to NHK, rescuers heard the driver responding to them at 1pm local time on Jan 28 but they have since lost contact.
The city of Yashio has issued evacuation orders for 200 households as fear of a gas pipeline leak mounts. The authorities removed collapsible parts near the sinkholes with excavators on the evening of Jan 29, The Asahi Shimbun reported. But the situation worsened as a road section between two sinkholes crumbled, causing them to form a large combined sinkhole.
The sinkhole is believed to have been caused by a burst sewer pipe running beneath the road.
About 1.2 million people in 12 cities and towns in the eastern part of Saitama prefecture were asked to ease pressure on the sewerage system by limiting their use of water in bathing and doing laundry.
