Steel Pipe Rises 13 Meters at Osaka Sewer Site, Closes Roads

A massive steel pipe unexpectedly rose more than 13 meters above ground at a sewer construction site in Osaka, Japan, early Wednesday, scattering debris across a busy roadway and prompting road closures that snarled traffic in the city's Kita Ward.

The incident occurred around 6:50 a.m. near National Route 423, close to Hankyu Osaka-Umeda Station in the Tsurunocho area. A pedestrian alerted police after spotting broken concrete fragments falling from the site, where the 27-meter-long, 3.5-meter-diameter pipe had jutted upward overnight. Officials with the Osaka construction department confirmed the pipe, used as a retaining structure to prevent soil collapse during work to connect an existing sewer line to a rainwater storage channel, had not been visible the previous day.

Workers had been pumping groundwater from the pipe until early Wednesday, a step that authorities believe caused the apparatus to float due to reduced weight and pressure changes underground. The pipe's ascent nearly reached an elevated section of the highway above, but it stopped short, avoiding potential damage to the structure. No injuries were reported, though the sudden event baffled passersby and nearby...