Families near Japan sinkhole asked to evacuate as truck driver remains trapped

Sinkhole has expanded to size of Olympic swimming pool

Five families living in the vicinity of a sinkhole in Japan have been told to evacuate as the crater continued to expand, days after swallowing a truck along with its driver.

The sinkhole in Yashio city swallowed the two-tonne dump truck and its 74-year-old driver on Tuesday and has since widened to the size of an Olympic swimming pool.

The search for the driver, who has not been named, was suspended late last week as the ground around the sinkhole became unstable. Rescuers are now seeking to reach him through a 30m slope built to send down heavy equipment.

On Sunday, five households near the sinkhole in Saitama Prefecture were asked to evacuate and take shelter by local government officials, The Japan Times reported. More than a hundred residents living within a 50m radius of the hole had already been moved out last week.

Sinkhole has continued to widen (Reuters)

Saitama regional governor Motohiro Ono said on Saturday that rescue workers had completed the construction of a slope to reach the driver. They would use the 30m slope to send down heavy equipment into the hole and reach the driver, he said.

“We’re going to clear the debris and rescue the driver as soon as possible,” Mr Ono said.

Rescue workers initially heard the driver responding to their calls, but soon lost contact.

The efforts to rescue the man had to be suspended as further cave-ins at the sinkhole made the area highly unstable.

Rescue work continues to save a truck driver whose vehicle was swallowed by a sinkhole in the city of Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, Japan (JIJI Press/AFP via Getty)

The initial collapse occurred at around 9.50am local time on 28 January, creating a chasm 5m wide and 10m deep, according to The Japan Times. Another sinkhole appeared in Yashio on Thursday after wastewater from a ruptured sewage pipe flooded the first one. This sparked further collapses, taking down a utility pole and a restaurant signboard.

The original sinkhole was likely caused by a burst sewer pipe under the road.

It was reported last week that authorities had asked around 1.2 million people across 12 cities and towns in the eastern part of Saitama prefecture to limit showers and laundry use in an effort to ease pressure on the sewer system.