SAITAMA (Kyodo) -- Efforts to rescue a man in a truck trapped in a large sinkhole near Tokyo continued Wednesday, but his fate is unknown as water accumulating in the hole hampered the operation with the driver's seat now buried in sand.

A new sinkhole, meanwhile, was formed early Wednesday near the site in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, prompting local authorities to call on residents within a 200-meter radius to evacuate as there is a gas pipe running underground.

The 74-year-old man, whose truck was swallowed Tuesday morning at an intersection, was initially able to speak but became unable to communicate from around 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to local authorities.

The new hole was some 3 meters in width when it was formed but had widened to around 10 meters by 8 a.m. Wednesday. The signpost of a nearby restaurant also collapsed.

The first hole was possibly formed due to the corrosion of a sewer pipe running 10 meters below the prefectural road, which could have allowed soil and sand to flow into it, creating a hollow in the ground that collapsed under the weight of vehicles, prefectural officials said.

"We cannot rule out the possibility of the sinkhole expanding," Saitama Gov. Motohiro Ono told reporters on Wednesday.

The cargo bed of the truck has been recovered from the hole, which measures 10 meters across and 6 meters in depth.

The prefectural government has called on residents in a total of 12 cities and towns to refrain from using the sewage system, affecting some 1.2 million people, it said.