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Japanese officials have requested 1.2 million residents to reduce their laundry and shower usage in order to prevent sewage leaks that could complicate efforts to rescue a truck driver into a sinkhole.
On Tuesday, January 28, during the morning rush hour, a hole in Yashio sprang out of nowhere, engulfing the truck.
The unstable terrain surrounding the hole and the emergence of a second, larger hole have significantly impeded rescue efforts. Additionally, water has also started leaking in.
A Saitama prefecture official told AFP on Thursday, January 30, "Putting our first priority on saving the person's life, we are asking residents to refrain from non-essential use of water such as taking a bath or doing laundry."
"Using toilets is difficult to refrain from, but we are asking to use less water as much as possible," the official added.
The prefecture sent a statement to the roughly 1.2 million residents and asked them to "please continue to refrain from sewage as polluted water may overflow".
It said, "As the rescue work is facing difficulties, it will likely take time to restore" the sewage system.
On Wednesday, January 29, some local sewage water was gathered and dumped into a neighbouring river.
Rescuers have been trying nonstop to get in touch with the 74-year-old truck driver, who hasn't been heard from since about 1 pm on Tuesday.
Since then, the original sinkhole—which was roughly 10 meters wide and 6 meters deep—has combined with another.
A fire department official told AFP, "At around 2.30 am (on Thursday), the two holes became one, and with risk of another landslide or collapse of roads, we've been unable to use heavy machinery."