Stuck truck in Puri Kembangan causes gridlock, evacuation stalled

Jakarta (ANTARA) — A 37-tonne truck that became trapped in a drainage ditch in the Puri Kembangan area of West Jakarta on Friday morning had still not been successfully evacuated by midnight.

Observations at the scene at 23:57 Western Indonesian Time showed the green truck still tilting to the left, occupying the majority of the road surface. Severe congestion had been unavoidable since the morning, with a number of local residents stepping in to help direct traffic.

“It’s been stuck since dawn. The congestion this morning was dreadful because the road became so narrow,” said a local resident named Adi on Friday evening.

Meanwhile, Traffic Unit Officer from the Kembangan Police Sector, First Police Officer Zulkarnain, explained that the evacuation process had encountered difficulties due to the weight of the cargo and safety considerations at the site.

He disclosed that the tens of tonnes of ceramic tiles loaded on the truck were complicating the evacuation effort.

“The cargo weighs approximately 37 tonnes, and that doesn’t include the weight of the vehicle itself. So it really does make evacuation difficult,” he said.

Officers were currently awaiting a forklift with a capacity of approximately 25 tonnes, being brought in from the Cengkareng area to assist with the evacuation process.

Furthermore, the incident apparently began when the truck driver allegedly took a wrong turn after following directions from a motorcyclist who was also unfamiliar with the road conditions.

“The driver was heading towards Cengkareng but took a wrong turn because he followed someone’s directions. He moved to the left because a vehicle was coming from the opposite direction wanting to exit, and ended up falling in,” he explained.

The location was a former excavation site, meaning the ground was too fragile to bear the truck’s weight.

“If it isn’t evacuated quickly, it’s the public who suffer. The impact this morning was already extraordinary. Hopefully we can resolve this tonight,” he added.