Residents near sinkhole in Japan urged to evacuate as efforts to rescue man stuck inside shelved

Rescuers building a 30m slope to deploy heavy equipment to reach a truck driver stuck in a sinkhole in Yashio, Japan, on Feb 1. - PHOTO: AFP

TOKYO (AFP): Five households in the immediate vicinity of a massive, ever-widening sinkhole near Tokyo were urged to evacuate Sunday, with efforts to rescue a man stuck inside reportedly halted.

A 74-year-old truck driver was swallowed Tuesday by the cavity which has since expanded to 40 metres (130 feet) across -- almost the length of an Olympic swimming pool.