Five households in the immediate vicinity of a massive and always larger chasm near Tokyo were invited to evacuate Sunday, with efforts to save a man stuck inside would have been arrested.
A 74 -year -old truck driver plunged his vehicle into the cavity on Tuesday, which has since extended 40 meters in diameter – almost the length of an Olympic swimming pool.
The growth hole could be the result of corroded sewer pipes, according to local authorities.
Requests were issued on Sunday for five households near the hole in the city of Yashio, Saitama prefecture, to refuse, said a local government official.
This is at the top of other residents within a 50-meter radius of the cavity which are also encouraged to evacuate, he added.
On Saturday, Japanese rescuers finished building a 30 -meter slope to send heavy equipment and reach the truck driver.
But a good amount of sewers was discovered under the slope which, combined with rain, led to the suspension of the rescue mission on Sunday, said the public broadcaster NHK.
With the hole walls – about 15 meters deep, according to NHK – eroding, rescuers cannot stay long inside.
The hole was initially about five meters in diameter, but combined with a larger cavity which opened its doors during the rescue operation on Tuesday evening.
Until now, around 1.2 million people living nearby have been invited to reduce showers and linen to prevent wastewater from preventing the operation.
