Truck driver trapped in sinkhole for over 24 hours as rescue plan is underway near Tokyo
A truck driver has spent more than 24 hours trapped under a sinkhole in Japan that swallowed his vehicle in the greater Tokyo area, national officials confirmed.
The crater formed at a busy intersection in the city of Yashio Monday at around 10 a.m. local time (8 p.m. ET) and is estimated to be 32 feet wide and 16 feet deep, according to NBC News.
A fire department official said the driver was able to communicate with first responders at the scene before rescuers were forced to flee due to the area's instability, Japan Today reported. A rescue operation is underway examining whether it's possible to safely use a large crane to carry the truck without the gap collapsing, a department spokesperson told CBS News.
Saitama Prefecture Gov. Motohiro Ono said at a news briefing that rescuing the driver is the primary objective.
Officials no longer able to communicate with driver
Yashio City Police told NHK, a Japanese public broadcaster, that the investigation into the sinkhole is ongoing and that rescuers have not been able to speak with the trapped truck driver.
Eight hours following the collapse, the man remained trapped inside his truck due to the driver's seat being filled with sand and mud, Nippon TV station reported. Throughout the rescue process, emergency responders were pumping air into the large hole to deliver the driver oxygen, the Japanese outlet said.
Watch: Sinkhole swallows truck in Japan
What caused the sinkhole?
During the news conference on Tuesday, Ono said he thought the sinkhole may have been caused by a "crack in the Nakagawa River Basin sewer pipe," NBC News reported.
"As a result of this collapse, a passing truck fell in," Ono said, per NBC News.
According to government officials in Saitama Prefecture, the collapse may have happened due to a heavily corroded sewage pipe that runs 10 meters underground, the Mainichi Shimbun, a Japanese publication, reported. The belief is that surrounding sediment flowed into the pipe and created a hollow space under the road, which was unable to hold up the weight as vehicles passed, the outlet added.
Anthony Robledo is a national trending reporter at Paste BN. Reach him at arobledo@usatoday.com and follow him on X and Instagram @anthonyarobledo.
Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending news for Paste BN. Reach him at JLimehouse@gannett.com.