Authorities in Saitama Prefecture are shifting the search for a missing 74-year-old man whose truck was engulfed by a sinkhole in the city of Yashio last month from the sinkhole itself to a sewer pipe where part of the driver's seat of the fallen truck was found, according to media reports.
Firefighters resumed search operations with heavy machinery Sunday morning after a several-day suspension due to water leaking into the hole. While water levels had decreased by Sunday morning, water began flowing back into the hole shortly after, forcing authorities to halt operations after about 30 minutes, media reported.
During Sunday’s search, no clues to the missing driver's whereabouts were found in the hole. As further collapses are possible, authorities have decided to stop the search within the sinkhole due to concerns for the rescuers' safety.
Firefighters are now considering alternative search methods, including entering the sewer pipes through manholes, NHK reported. But as hydrogen sulfide can fill sewer pipes and present a danger to rescuers, authorities are considering safe ways to operate.
The incident occurred on the morning of Jan. 28, when a section of the road at an intersection in Yashio caved in, causing a passing truck to plunge into the hole. While a piece believed to be part of the driver's seat of the fallen truck was discovered last week inside a sewer pipe about 100 to 200 meters downstream from the site, the whereabouts of the driver remain unknown.
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