Japanese authorities have asked hundreds of residents near Tokyo to evacuate as a sinkhole at an intersection grew to more than 40 meters wide, hampering rescuers racing to reach an elderly truck driver whose vehicle was swallowed by the hole.

Officials in Yashio city, located north of Tokyo, are trying to rescue a 74-year-old man whose truck was swallowed by a massive sinkhole on Tuesday. View on euronews

A sinkhole near Tokyo that swallowed a dump truck hole on Tuesday has now doubled in wide after combining with a second sinkhole as rescue workers continued their dig to reach the vehicle's driver.