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Japan sinkhole rescue enters fourth day with truck driver still trapped

The search for a 74-year-old truck driver trapped in a Japan sinkhole entered a fourth day on Friday (Jan 31) as worsening ground conditions have complicated operations.

The incident has captured national attention since the sinkhole suddenly appeared in Yashio City in Saitama prefecture, just northeast of Tokyo, during the morning rush hour on Tuesday.

The sinkhole was roughly 10m wide and 5m deep but has since grown to twice that size after it merged with another cave-in nearby.

The truck driver was last heard responding to rescuers on Tuesday afternoon, according to Yashio fire department official Yoshifumi Hashiguchi.

Contact was lost after the truck became further buried under soil and debris, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.

The unsteady ground, with a hollow space below it, has hampered the rescue. 

Television footage captured the asphalt road cracking and collapsing into the sinkhole, knocking down billboards. 

Authorities have tried to save the driver by lifting his truck with cranes, but they could only recover the loading platform, leaving behind the cabin where the driver is believed to be trapped. 

Officials have also tried without success to remove sediment and dig out the driver. They flew a drone into the hole to see if rescue workers could climb down, but no progress has been made.

Saitama prefectural sewer system official Jun Uehara said corrosion, possibly because of strong acid constantly passing through the system, might have created a hole in the pipe, causing soil above to fall in and create a large hollow space between it and the road.

No problem was found with the pipe during its last visual inspection, which is required every five years. 

About 1.2 million residents have been asked to cut back

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