A sinkhole at an intersection in Saitama Prefecture that swallowed a truck collapsed further Thursday and merged with a second opening that had formed nearby, as rescue efforts continued into a third day to save the driver.

Rescue workers in Japan are trying to pull out a truck driver from a sinkhole that appeared on Tuesday and has since widened. The sinkhole appeared in Yashio city in Saitama prefecture, near the capital Tokyo, swallowing a truck.

Japanese authorities have asked 1.2 million people to cut back on showers and laundry to prevent leaking sewage aggravating an operation to rescue a truck driver in a sinkhole. The hole suddenly opened up in Yashio during the morning rush hour on Tuesday,