By Xinhua,
Tokyo : Police and firefighters confirmed Tuesday that one man died and four others are still missing after being swept away in a sewage system in Tokyo’s Toshima Ward.
The accident occurred while six workers were carrying out repair work in the underground sewage pipe when a thunderstorm raged across the capital and its vicinity, they said, adding that only one of the six managed to flee.
Police and firefighters said they were searching nearby sewage manholes and pumping stations as well as in the river for the four workers who remain missing after receiving an emergency call at about 12:15 p.m. local time (0315 GMT).
A thunderstorm accompanied by heavy rain that hit parts of Tokyo at the time of the incident apparently caused water in the underground sewage system to rapidly swell and the workers may have failed to escape.