LOOK: Giant Sinkhole Swallowed Up A Road In Japan

A giant sinkhole has appeared in the middle of a busy Japanese city, swallowing part of a five-lane street near the main railway station.

The massive hole, around 30 metres wide, exposed support columns of nearby buildings at a traffic intersection in the southern city of Fukuoka, prompting fears of further collapses.

A TV footage showed two separate holes steadily expanding as they sucked in asphalt and soil in front of the city’s Hakata Station.

“It was a bit dark outside, and my first impression was, ‘Is the road really falling?’” a young man who saw the sinkhole develop told public broadcaster NHK.

The hole continued to grow and by afternoon was around 15 metres deep, and filling with water from broken pipes.

“When I saw it, two holes were already there, and they continued to grow bigger. “I got scared the most when a traffic light fell at an intersection close to where I was standing. I felt, ‘I have to get out of here,’” he told NHK.

Police, who had cordoned off the area and evacuated buildings, said there had been no reports of any injuries.

Fukuoka Mayor Soichiro Takashima and transport bureau said the on-going extension to a nearby subway line might have triggered the sinkhole.

According to local media, construction had to stop early morning when workers saw groundwater washing into the site, shortly before the road began to cave in.

Fukuoka’s mayor told a press conference the city was scrambling to prevent further damage.

“We believe the subway construction had some impact,” he said. “A thorough investigation will be carried out.”

Fukuoka is the biggest city on the southernmost main Japanese island of Kyushu. Its railway station is a major intersection, including for the super fast bullet trains that crisscross the country.

[Source: News]