Four days after his truck was sucked into by the cavity, which is now 40 meters wide, Japanese rescuers said on Saturday ( Feb 1 ) that they had built a slope to reach him stuck in a sinkhole.
Volunteers have been having trouble with the procedure as Yashio area, on the fringes of Tokyo, grows the hole, which is now the length of an Olympic swimming pool.
” We have only finished the work on the ramp,” Saitama provincial government Motohiro Ono told reporters.
The 30m hill will be used by rescuers to launch heavy equipment into the opening.
” We are going to clean the dust and save the vehicle as soon as possible”, Ono said.
Since noon on Tuesday, the 74-year-old driver has had no contact with him due to the soil and debris that have accumulated in his cabin.
According to NHK, water that was leaked into the hole was largely stopped on Saturday.
With the walls of the opening- around 15m full, according to NHK- eroding, save workers are unable to be inside it for longer.
Initial estimates suggested the tunnel was 5 meters in diameter, but it was later combined with a bigger opening during the recovery mission on Tuesday evening.
Asphalt has fallen far enough inside to make it challenging for rescuers and large machinery to enter the gorge.