In Japan, an unusual case occurred: a man fell into a huge pit while driving a truck, which subsequently widened. Local authorities are trying to complete the construction of a slope to rescue the truck driver as quickly as possible. However, according to a local official, this may take several days. According to Yusif Hashiguchi, the head of the fire department in Yashive, the truck driver initially remained conscious and communicated with the rescuers, but since the connection signals disappeared on Tuesday, he has been silent. Recently, around 200 families were evacuated from nearby areas due to the pit also leaking gas. Deep pits are becoming more widespread in Japanese mountains, where many are accustomed to the old infrastructure of drainage pipes built during the period of rapid economic growth in the 60s-70s. This has complicated the work of the rescue workers to bring in heavy rescue equipment. "This is a very serious situation," stated Tetsuzumi Sato, the head of the fire department, on Thursday, adding that rescuers plan to build a slope so that the heavy equipment can reach the pit. One of the officials of the Safety Prefecture, Daisuke Tsutsui, reported on Thursday that the damaged pipes may possibly have caused the earth to sink and created landslips. Rescuers found it difficult to penetrate the pit, which at a depth of 30 feet was covered with asphalt due to a landslide. In Japan, over a million people have been urged to reduce water usage, especially for taking showers and washing clothes, to help rescuers gain access to the trapped pensioner in the huge pit. The 74-year-old man, along with his truck, was trapped in a pit in Yashive, north of Tokyo, on Tuesday morning, reported the Telegraph. Work to rescue him was hampered due to remote collapses, resulting in the pit currently expanding to about 40 meters, approximately the length of an Olympic swimming pool. The regional government has reported that 1.2 million residents of 12 neighborhoods are being urged to refrain from taking showers and washing clothes in order to alleviate the pressure on the draining wastewater from the collapsing drainage systems. "It is difficult to refrain from using toilets, but we ask to use less water, as much as possible," added an official, clarifying that part of the drainage water flows into the nearest river. Authorities believe that the giant pit may have formed due to the corrosion of drainage pipes.
