Japan trucker still stuck in sinkhole after 24 hours
A lorry plunged into the hole that is around the width of two cars.
Daily TribuneA lorry plunged into the hole that is around the width of two cars.
Firefighters work to rescue a truck driver after his vehicle was swallowed up by a sinkhole at a prefectural road intersection, in the city of Yashio, Saitama Prefecture on Jan 28, 2025.
AFP/STR/JIJI Press
TOKYO (AFP) — Japanese truck driver stuck in a sinkhole for more than 24 hours as local residents were evacuated over fears gas pipes could break.
Emergency workers in Yashio city outside Tokyo rushed to the scene on Tuesday morning after a road caved in and a lorry plunged into the hole that is around the width of two cars.
The driver was able to speak directly to rescuers until early Tuesday afternoon, but rescue workers had to retreat after the area around the hole became unstable, according to a fire department official.
“Rescue operations have continued around the clock but we haven’t been able to contact the driver” since, another fire department spokesperson told AFP Wednesday, adding that the driver was believed to be in his 70s.
The spokesperson said that another sinkhole has since opened up nearby, and residents within a 200-meter radius had been evacuated.
Aerial TV footage showed the second sinkhole — slightly bigger than the first, and just several meters away.
The main body of the truck was pulled from the first sinkhole at around 1 a.m., the spokesperson said.
But the driver’s cabin is still inside the hole, estimated to be about 10 meters wide and six meters deep.
