Excavator Plunges into Kali Cakung Lama, DKI Water Resources Agency to Evacuate Tonight

An excavator plunged into the Kali Cakung Lama in North Jakarta while carrying out canal normalisation work. A video of the incident went viral on social media on Monday (20/7/2026), showing the heavy equipment trapped in the waterway with half of its body submerged.

Responding to the incident, the DKI Jakarta Water Resources Agency (Dinas SDA) explained that the equipment encountered difficulties during mobilisation due to the location being in a densely populated residential area. Head of the DKI Jakarta Water Resources Agency, Ika Agustin, stated that completing the work at the site requires special handling. “The location is indeed a dense residential area, so it requires special handling for the mobilisation of heavy equipment,” Ika Agustin said.

Ika emphasised that the agency remains committed to completing the work at the location, noting that the terrain conditions pose a challenge to the process. “Basically, the Water Resources Agency is striving to complete the work. The location requires special handling,” she added.

Meanwhile, Firmansyah Saputra, Head of the Flood Control Subgroup for the Flood Control and Drainage Division of the DKI Jakarta Water Resources Agency, said his team has followed up on the incident. According to Firmansyah, the evacuation process will be carried out by deploying other heavy equipment to help pull the excavator out.

“The DKI Jakarta Provincial Water Resources Agency is following up on the incident of heavy equipment stuck in the Kali Cakung Lama, North Jakarta, on Monday (20/7). The handling will be carried out by deploying heavy equipment to assist in the evacuation process of the stuck excavator,” he stated.

Firmansyah mentioned that the evacuation is scheduled to take place on Monday night. Coordination has been carried out with various parties to ensure the smooth mobilisation of the heavy equipment. “The evacuation process is planned for Monday night. Currently, coordination has been carried out through the implementing contractor together with Babinsa and the local community to prepare traffic engineering to support the mobilisation of heavy equipment around the incident location, so that the evacuation process can proceed safely, orderly, and smoothly,” he explained.