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 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.

Another sinkhole has since opened up nearby, and residents within a 650-foot radius had been evacuated, a spokesman said.

Rescue teams are continuing efforts to rescue a 74-year-old man trapped in a sinkhole at an intersection in Yashio, Saitama, according to 'The Japan Times.' His vehicle was reportedly sucked into the approximately 40 meters wide and 15 meters deep sinkhole just before 10 a.

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

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 74-year-old truck driver remains trapped in a sinkhole that opened earlier this week in Yashio, Japan. The sinkhole opened just before 10 a.m. local time Tuesday, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, right before the truck driver drove over the area of the hole. The driver lost contact with rescuers on the surface at around 1 p.m.

Japan truck driver remains trapped in sinkhole as rescue effort enters third day. The status of the 74 year-old man, who has been in the hole since Tuesday (January 28) is unknown.