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.

A massive sinkhole opened on a road in Japan's Saitama Prefecture. Rescue efforts are underway a truck that fell into the sinkhole.

Emergency workers have been hampered by unstable ground since Tuesday, when a truck and its driver were swallowed north of Tokyo.