Large sinkhole swallows truck in Saitama Prefecture; man still trapped

That's not a large sink hole. It's a medium at best. Or you could say it was a small truck sized sink hole. They will need at least 5 guard men to stop people falling in.

Not a sinkhole. Sinkholes are caused by water movements removing u/g soils. It is a failure of a structural box culvert drain/sewer. What happened to the r.c roof slab. failed under the load of a 5tonne flat bed. Thank You up there how many lucky bus passengers today? At least I can say.. that box culvert is not one of mine. Jail sentence for some contractor please.

NNN reports the hole is approximately 5 meters in diameter and some 10 meters deep. The cause is believed to be a clogged sewer pipe. Moreover, the outlet reports that the driver of the truck has not been rescued.

flatbed is~2.5m bed width, considering camera angle I could accept a 5w x 8l x10dp. that is one huge fatburg. also see where the responders have positioned their equipments. they know what's down there. I not u'stand wagon inclination. Enuff we dunno. wishes for the driver.

@Japan Glimpsed

Moreover, the outlet reports that the driver of the truck has not been rescued.

It's crazy that he's still down there, after all this time.

Moderator: as if 7pm, the TV news says he has not yet been rescued. 

with a man being rescued following the incident.

Oops. “as of”

Not a sinkhole. Sinkholes are caused by water movements removing u/g soils

Care to check that definition again? I’m tired of so called experts on this website thinking they know absolutely everything. Who are you trying to impress, other gaijin who also have no life?

wishes for the driver.

Yes. Unfortunately, rescuers have not been able to contact the driver since early this afternoon.

That's not a large sink hole. It's a medium at best. Or you could say it was a small truck sized sink hole. They will need at least 5 guard men to stop people falling in.

Informed comments. The rescue effort is ongoing and extremely difficult. As you'd know if you'd bothered to check Japanese reporting, which stresses the difficulty of reaching the driver.

Not a sinkhole

Thanks. That distinction offers consolation to the driver and his family.

This happens in my home city here in the US. Old water and sewer lines begin to leak, erode out a cavern, then the road collapses.

I hate to see this happen to someone who is at work and didn't make any mistake. Just driving down the street.

I wish him and his family well.

Wow the reporting here seems to amaze me "fire authorities working through the day to rescue a trapped man believed to be the driver". LOL who else could be down there? HELLLLLO!!

I don't see a pump truck to remove any water from the hole nor do I see blowers to blow fresh air down into the hole and displace any accumulated sewer gases and prevent the victim from asphyxiating. This is basic stuff.

@Mr Kipling

That's not a large sink hole. It's a medium at best. Or you could say it was a small truck sized sink hole. They will need at least 5 guard men to stop people falling in.

It's small until you or your vehicle really in that hole.

Definitely a sink hole. Another hole has opened up and swallowed a large sign. Who knows how big it is under the asphalt. A waste water pipe broke and washed away the dirt surrounding it. I live 5km from here and can hear the hovering helicopters, but thank goodness I’m downstream. A huge area upstream is being asked not to do laundry or create waste water. Ramen shops, etc affected. Communications too. Broken cables.

I hope the driver survives.

Was watching the live feed late last night about this. Seeing the mangled front of the truck was heartbreaking. Just as it was lifted, the restaurant sign collapsed as the road under there gave way, it must be such an exhausting, tense job for all those working round the clock. The poor driver who no doubt had injury on impact and then all that goes along with that as well as a night outside in winter.... my thoughts go out to him and his loved ones.

nor do I see blowers to blow fresh air down into the hole and displace any accumulated sewer gases and prevent the victim from asphyxiating. This is basic stuff.

The blowers and ductwork were clearly visible in TV news reporting of the rescue operation during most of the day, yesterday. So, this photo is probably from a much earlier point in the operation.

Unfortunately, they also showed the cab completely covered in mud and sediment. It doesn't look good for the driver. (I haven't been able to find any updated info on any of the English-language J news sites so far this morning.)

And what is the current state of the driver?

As of this morning, despite pulling out the flat bed, the cab remains stuck in the hole. The driver was communicating with the outside world until 1:00 pm yesterday, but silence since then. They still have not been able to reach the driver to ascertain his status, so the answer is that no one yet knows..

We can only be pessimistic about the fate of driver, unfortunately.

A new hole formed with a collapse and gas leak could occur. Evacuation of people within a 200m area.

Things have been getting worse

thank goodness I’m downstream

and thank goodness that many gases escape upward. still, makes us wonder about plenty of older infrastructure in place. I remember a couple of years ago, probably close to the beginning of Corona, when a large sinkhole (compared to this so far) opened up in Fukuoka near Hakata Station. Still no word on the driver? In this case, no news is probably bad news.