The manhole was 60 centimeters wide and more than 10 meters deep. On Saturday, August 2, 2025, one worker fell into it in the city of Gyoda, in Saitama Prefecture just north of Tokyo. Three colleagues went in after him. All four died.
Authorities announced the deaths on Sunday. The men, all in their 50s, were part of a crew checking sewage pipes. Police told public broadcaster NHK that one man dropped down the shaft and the other three, trying to rescue him, followed. The local fire department told AFP that all four were pulled out and taken to hospital, where they were pronounced dead, according to local media.
Rescuers picked up hydrogen sulfide, a gas that is toxic in high concentrations, rising from the manhole. Local police said the same, and Japan Times reported they suspect the workers inhaled it. Another report said police were still checking whether the gas had anything to do with the deaths.
An inspection ordered after a sinkhole
The crew was working on an emergency survey of sewage pipes that the central government had ordered municipalities to carry out. The order followed a huge sinkhole that opened at an intersection in Yashio city, in the same prefecture, on January 28. A 74-year-old truck driver was trapped in it, and his body was recovered in May. The cave-in was believed to have been caused by corroded sewer pipe.
The government told local authorities to inspect pipes 2 meters or more in diameter that had been in the ground for at least 30 years. At least seven workers were at the Gyoda site, according to DW, and Al Jazeera put the number at about 10. They had been told to clean the pipes of wastewater and sludge if necessary.
Why the first man fell has not been explained. A Gyoda city official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said: “Detailed circumstances leading up to the accident are still unknown, so it’s too early for us to say anything about our responsibility.”
Sources
- Japan: Four workers dead after falling into manhole
- Four workers die after falling into a manhole in Japan
- 4 workers die in Japan after 1 falls into manhole & other 3 try saving him
