Families near Japan sinkhole asked to evacuate as truck driver remains trapped
Families near Japan sinkhole asked to evacuate as truck driver remains trapped
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Sinkhole has expanded to size of Olympic swimming pool. 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. “We’re going to clear the debris and rescue the driver as soon as possible,” Mr Ono said.
![[Rescue work continues to save a truck driver whose vehicle was swallowed by a sinkhole in the city of Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, Japan]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/31/5/46/GettyImages-2195928186.jpeg)
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. 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.
