Saitama Road Collapse Recovery to Take 5-7 Years

May 16, 2025 | News On Japan

Saitama, May 16, 2025 (News On Japan) - A road collapse in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture is expected to take five to seven years to fully restore, local officials said on Friday, following the recovery of a truck cab that had remained lodged in the sewer system since the January accident.

The accident occurred in January 2025 when the road gave way and a truck plunged into the resulting sinkhole. On May 2nd, the body of a 74-year-old male driver was discovered in the truck’s cab still lodged within the sewer pipe.

On May 16th, the prefectural government and related agencies carried out an operation to retrieve the cab. It was successfully brought to the surface at around 8:30 a.m.

Officials stated that further investigations will be conducted to determine the cause of the collapse. In addition to repairing the damaged section of sewer pipe, the prefecture is considering installing a new parallel pipe system to ensure greater resilience. The full recovery of the area, including infrastructure repairs and preventive upgrades, is projected to require five to seven years.

Source: FNN

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