Rescue Efforts Ongoing for Truck Driver Trapped in Expanding Japanese Sinkhole

The sinkhole near Tokyo has grown to 40 meters wide, complicating rescue operations for the 74-year-old driver trapped since Tuesday.

A sinkhole in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture, opened on January 28, swallowing a truck and trapping its 74-year-old driver, whose condition remains unknown.
The sinkhole has expanded significantly, now measuring approximately 40 meters wide and 15 meters deep, due to ongoing erosion and merging with a nearby collapse.
Rescue teams are constructing a 30-meter ramp to safely deploy heavy machinery but face delays due to unstable ground and continued cave-ins.
Authorities attribute the sinkhole to corrosion in a 40-year-old sewage pipe, exacerbated by leaking wastewater that weakened the surrounding soil.
Over 1.2 million residents have been asked to limit water use, and 200 households near the site have been evacuated due to safety concerns and the risk of gas leaks.