A giant sinkhole that swallowed an intersection in the Japanese city of Fukuoka has been repaired in a matter of days, attracting worldwide attention and praise for the engineers and workers involved. 

The gaping chasm, which opened at 5am local time on 8 November, measured about 30m by 27m and was 15m deep, swallowing five lanes of a major city intersection. Although the incident disrupted gas and water supplies, there were no reports of injuries.

City workers toiled 24/7, filling the hole with a mixture of sand and wet cement. It reportedly took just two days for engineers to fill the hole and repair the underground infrastructure, with another five days spent testing the site.

The weeklong rush to reopen the busy stretch of road included repairs to a sewage pipe and replacing traffic lights and utility poles swallowed by the sinkhole. 

City officials believe the road collapsed due to a subway construction exposing support columns of nearby buildings.

The speed and efficiency of the Fukuoka workers attracted international media attention, and many have taken to social media to voice their surprise at the speedy work.