A 74-year-old man has been trapped since Tuesday inside his truck that fell into a sinkhole in the asphalt in Yashio City, northeast of Tokyo, Japan. The elderly man was initially conscious and talking to rescuers, but firefighters have been unable to contact him since Tuesday afternoon.

The hole was initially about 10 meters wide and 5 meters deep, but has since grown to double its size. Unstable ground, with a cavity underneath, is hampering the rescue. Television footage shows the asphalt road cracking and collapsing into the hole, knocking over billboards . Rescuers tried to save the driver by lifting his truck with cranes, but were only able to recover the loading platform, leaving behind the cabin where the driver is believed to be trapped.

Firefighters also tried unsuccessfully to remove pieces of asphalt and extract the driver . A drone was flown into the sinkhole but no progress was made.

(Online Union)

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