Sinkholes merge and expand in Japan

[Anchor]

Recently, Japan has been struggling to manage a large ground subsidence phenomenon that occurred near Tokyo.

As the scale of the subsidence has increased, the truck driver who fell into the collapsed ground has still not been found even on the ninth day since the incident.

This is Hwang Jin-woo reporting from Tokyo.

[Report]

On January 28, a sinkhole with a diameter of 10 meters and a depth of 5 meters occurred in a city near Tokyo. Efforts to lift the fallen truck only resulted in the separation of the rear cargo area, and at that moment, the nearby ground collapsed again.

The scene shows two large holes created by successive road collapses.

The next day, the ground between the two holes also collapsed, expanding into a pit with a diameter of 20 meters.

The condition of the 74-year-old driver, who is submerged along with the front part of the truck, has still not been confirmed.

They attempted to create a slope to deploy equipment, but misjudged the direction, further excavating intact roads and creating another slope in confusion.

Moreover, sewage is backing up from the sewer, making rescue efforts difficult.

[Tanaka Akira/Japanese Disaster Prevention Expert: "If residents refrain from using water, once the water drains, many rescue workers will likely start the rescue simultaneously and finish their activities in a short time."]

Residents in the area, totaling 1.2 million, have already been requested to limit their water usage at designated times.

While citizens are cooperative, there is a growing sense of fatigue from nearly ten days of rescue operations.

[Nearby Resident: "I want to cooperate by not using water, but I'm not sure how far I can cooperate."]

Rescue authorities have even used underwater drones to explore the inside of the sewer and have identified an object believed to be part of the driver's seat.

This is Hwang Jin-woo reporting from Tokyo for KBS News.