The body of a truck driver whose vehicle fell into a sinkhole in Japan is recovered after 3 months

TOKYO AP The body of a truck driver was recovered Friday three months after his carriage fell into a sinkhole that suddenly appeared while he was driving on a road near Tokyo The -ton truck fell into the hole in Yashio City just northeast of the Japanese capital in January During an earlier search and rescue operation workers tried to lift the truck but only its flat-bed came out The -year-old driver trapped in the cabin of the truck was concluded to have been swept to a location about meters yards downstream On Friday after three months of preparation to build a safe underground pathway for workers to reach the targeted area rescuers wearing helmets and hazmat suits went inside of it and recovered the body personnel mentioned Experts say the Yashio sinkhole was caused by corrosion in sewer pipes The unsteady ground and a hollow space below it had hampered the rescue while residents were requested to cut back on water use to minimize sewage water going through the area The situation was a wakeup call about the aging infrastructure in Japan where most of of its main population infrastructure was built during the rapid economic advancement of the s and s According to the Land Infrastructure and Travel Ministry more than sinkholes were ascertained across Japan various of them related to sewage facilities in urban areas Yashio Mayor Shinobu Oyama in a report offered his prayer for the driver and condolences to his family He pledged to do his utmost for the speedy reconstruction of the damaged road Source