NHK



 

 
A giant pipe has emerged about 13 meters above a road in a busy district of central Osaka, western Japan. The city is investigating the cause of the incident, and restoration work is underway.

Osaka City officials said an iron pipe measuring 3.5 meters in diameter was discovered protruding from the road shortly before 7 a.m. on Wednesday.

Thirteen meters of the 30-meter-long pipe had been pushed vertically out of the ground beneath the elevated Shin-Midosuji highway in the city's Kita Ward.

No injuries were reported.

Officials said the pipe was part of an underground conduit being prepared to store rainwater. On Tuesday, workers reportedly removed groundwater that had accumulated in the pipe.

The officials said they do not know whether this operation played a role in the pipe's emergence.

They are investigating the cause of the incident. Workers are injecting water into the pipe to push it back underground.

Officials say that there is a risk of the pipe rising further and reaching the elevated highway above. The Shin-Midosuji highway has therefore been closed since Wednesday morning. As a result, heavy traffic congestion has occurred around the busy Umeda district.

City officials say they do not know when the road closure can be lifted.
The head of the city's sewage department, Miyazaki Hiroaki, offered a deep apology for causing significant inconvenience to many residents.