Cavernous sinkhole devours main street

Parts of a main street collapsed in the heart of a major city in southern Japan on Tuesday, creating a massive sinkhole and cutting off power, water and gas supplies to parts of the city.

Authorities said no injuries were reported from the pre-sunrise collapse in downtown Fukuoka, which created a sinkhole more than half the size of an Olympic pool in the middle of the business district.

The cause of the collapse was under investigation, Fukuoka officials said, adding that it was likely linked to subway construction nearby. A smaller sinkhole occurred in Fukuoka in 2014 at another location of the subway construction.