Giant pipe protrudes 10 meters above ground at construction site in Osaka

OSAKA – A giant vertical pipe at a sewer construction site in Osaka was pushed upward Wednesday, protruding more than 10 meters above the ground, police said.

Osaka prefectural police said they received an emergency call around 6:50 a.m. from a pedestrian reporting that “concrete is falling at a construction site.” About five minutes later, officers confirmed that a pipe about five meters in diameter was protruding at the site.

The pipe, in an entertainment district near the Hankyu Railway’s Osaka-umeda Station in Kita Ward, emerged from the ground under the Shin-Midosuji elevated road. Traffic restrictions were imposed in parts of the area, causing congestion.

Fragments of asphalt could be seen scattered around the pipe, with a police officer urging pedestrians to keep moving.

“Cars will probably be blocked for a while,” said a man in his 60s who works nearby. “Shin-Midosuji is a major traffic artery, so I’m worried about possible disruption.”