A massive sinkhole in Japan swallowed a truck driver on January 28, 2025, leaving him missing for eight days. While authorities located an object thought to be the truck 100-200 meters downstream, the driver remains unaccounted for. Sewage flow and the risk of a collapsing concrete pipe complicate rescue efforts.
An aerial view of the sinkhole that swallowed a truck driver on January 28, 2025, was captured by Reuters/STR/Jiji Press, as reported by Japan ese media on Wednesday, February 5. However, there was still no sign of the 74-year-old truck driver, who vanished into the gaping hole along with his vehicle on January 28. Authorities lost contact with him later that day.
The object was found on Wednesday, the eighth day of rescue operations, during a search of a sewage pipe downstream from the sinkhole using an underwater drone, reported The Japan News. A video by Fuji News Network showed that the object was located 100m to 200m away from the initial collapse site.The search for the truck driver has been a challenging endeavor due to the constant flow of sewage into the sinkhole. To address this overflow, Saitama prefecture has appealed to residents in the surrounding area to conserve water. According to Nippon TV, there are still no plans for a full-scale search for the driver due to the risk of a concrete pipe collapsing. Authorities intend to remove the pipe and construct a second ramp to reach the driver, the report added. This follows the construction of a first ramp last week, which is currently being used by rescue workers.The massive sinkhole in Japan, initially estimated to be about 10m wide and 5m deep, has expanded to 40m across, nearly the length of an Olympic swimming pool, after merging with another cave-in nearby. It is now filled with sewage and debris. According to media reports, Yashio fire department official Yoshifumi Hashiguchi said the man was last heard responding to rescuers on the afternoon of the incident. Contact was lost after the truck became further buried under soil and debris, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported. Authorities have attempted to lift the truck using cranes, but they could only recover the loading platform, leaving the cabin where the driver is believed to be trapped. The operation has been further complicated by the inner walls of the hole, now around 15m deep according to an earlier NHK report, continuing to erode, preventing rescue workers from staying inside for extended periods. The country's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry has ordered a nationwide inspection of sewer systems. Most of Japan’s main public infrastructure was built during the rapid economic growth of the 1960s and 1970s. The sewage pipe in Yashiro is about 40 years old
JAPAN SINKHOLE TRUCK DRIVER MISSING RESCUE SEWAGE INFRASTRUCTURE AGEING PIPES
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