A giant underground pipe rose more than 30 feet from the ground at a construction site in the western Japanese city of Osaka on Wednesday (Mar 11) earlier this week. The mysterious rise of the pipe was first brought to the attention of authorities by a passing pedestrian, who witnessed chunks of asphalt and debris falling from the rising cylinder. Local police were dispatched immediately to secure the perimeter as traffic jams were reported, with people stopping to take pictures of the structure.
The 27-meter-long, 3.5-meter-diameter steel pipe was being used in work to connect an existing sewer pipe to a water storage pipe to manage overflowing rainwater. Preliminary investigations by city officials suggest the mishap was a result of unintended buoyancy.
According to project supervisors, the pipe unexpectedly floated out of the ground at a sewer construction site where workers were connecting an existing line to a flood-prevention rainwater channel.
The pipe was being used as a temporary retaining structure to prevent soil collapse. Officials believe that after workers drained the water from the pipe, the now-empty apparatus became buoyant and rose, according to a report in the New York Post.
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While the sight of the pipe protruding from the street caused significant local disruption, officials confirmed that no injuries were reported. The construction site was temporarily shut, and by Thursday, the pipe had been lowered back to just several feet above the ground after firefighters cut a hole on the side.
The project, aimed at bolstering Osaka's preparation against heavy rainfall, is now under review to determine how such a significant calculation error occurred.
